Within Temptation
by AdventRain
Summary: When darkness consumes his soul, he shut everything and everyone out. When his only goal was to prove he wasn't weak and pathetic, she could only hope to help the blind, cold and alone boy...SasuSaku .:.Re-Writing! Read: Love Is Blind!.:.
1. Prologue: What Happened Then

**Prologue: What happened then**

A dark haired handsome boy sat close to the window listening to the sounds of the rain. He could also hear the hustle and bustle of the cars on the street below. He knew it was nighttime, for it had become quiet in the rest of the hospital. He hadn't moved from his spot at the window for most of the day. Not that he understood why, it wasn't like he could see anything outside. He reached up and touched the bandages that surrounded his eyes and flinched. They still hurt. Why him? Why did it have to happen to him?

_Flashback_

"_Are we there yet?" The young 8 year old Uchiha Sasuke asked his parents. _

"_It's only been 5 minutes since the last time you asked. We'll get there when we get there." His father replied in a calm but stern voice. _

"_Can we listen to some music?" The boy asked his mother. It was awfully boring sitting in the backseat of a car with nothing to do. They were heading to the 'Cherry Blossom Festival'. He was so excited; he had never been there before. _

"_Ok, but only if you stay quiet." His mother answered. She turned on the radio. As the soft tune played through the speakers, Sasuke looked out the window and saw many beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees. Nothing in the world could ruin how happy he felt. The car slowed to a stop as they came to a red light. His mother and father were talking to each other in the front seat. Then-_

"_What does that guy think he's doing?" His father almost yelled._

_Across the street a truck was speeding along not slowing down for the red light. It swerved as it came up to the intersection, heading straight for the Uchiha's small car. The driver was drunk. It made contact with their car. The front end was smashed in completely. The last thing Sasuke saw were his parents shielding themselves from the impact and the windshield smashing._

_End Flashback_

That was yesterday. Sasuke had woken up in the hospital. Except when he tried to open his eyes, he couldn't. It stayed black and they hurt. His eyes had been bandaged, and he couldn't remember anything from the time of the collision to when he woke up. The doctors had come in an hour later, and told him the thing that would ruin his life forever.

His parents were dead.

He had tried to cry, but it hurt too badly. They also told them that shards from the windshield had flown into his eyes and cut his face. They had taken the glass out and bandaged the cuts. They left him alone then to cry without tears.

The images of the collision kept filling his head as he sat and listened to the rain. The doctors had come to check up on him once in a while since yesterday. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn't told his parents that he wanted to go to that stupid festival. Would they still be alive?

He reached up and touched the bandages once more. It had become a habit. Mostly from shock. Because he knew that he would never be able to see anything ever again.

He was blind.

**A/N**: Hey! How did you like the prologue? Chapter one will be up soon. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks! –Robbin13


	2. Chapter 1: What Happens Now

**Chapter 1: What Happens Now**

He had been treated differently since that day 6 years ago. And he hated it. Since he was orphaned, they took him home and had him put under the care of many different family members. None of them actually lived with him, they just visited frequently but it was hardly ever the same person. It varied from aunts to uncles to cousins but all of them were too busy to really stay and take care of the young boy.

Many people thought it cruel that the boy had to stay at his home on his own without any proper help, but Sasuke didn't really mind. It taught him that he had to rely on only himself and couldn't count on anyone else to be there to hold his hand and direct him where to go. He learned quickly how to deal with the fact that he couldn't see. He knew by instinct where objects were and he could tell when someone entered a room. He relied on his hearing a lot as well. If you didn't see he eyes, you would swear that he could see. His eyes were a misty gray color. He usually wore sunglasses to hide them.

Still, everyone treated him differently. He did not attend the ninja academy like all the others his age did. Instead he was tutored at home. But the tutors would only last about a day before they were fed up with him. He never listened, or rather pretended not to, and disobeyed anything they said. He had many different people ranging from genin to chuunin to jounin coming to teach him and even the Hokage had come to see why this boy was so unnerving. It was because he hated them. All of them. They all pitied him because he was 'the blind kid' who was basically useless as a ninja in their opinions. But he was strong, and maybe even stronger than most of the others at the ninja academy. And he wanted to prove to them that he could become a ninja of high ranking. Regardless of his condition.

They had brought him to the ninja academy for the proper graduation ceremony and the acceptance of his forehead protector when he was twelve. For a long while after, the big news of the town was how they had let a blind boy become a genin. He was added to a team: Team 7. It consisted of an annoying yellow haired boy named Uzumaki Naruto who was considered as the number one loudest ninja in Konoha, a pink haired girl named Haruno Sakura who had top grades, and the jounin teacher Hatake Kakashi. Again everyone thought badly of this, seeing as Naruto was nicknamed dead last, the Haruno girl wasn't very strong, the jounin was some-what careless and now they had a blind boy who was an Uchiha and could not use Sharingan.

Despite all this, they entered the chuunin exams. Many protested and even the Hokage wasn't happy about the idea of letting Sasuke try. But they passed. Now he and the rest of Team 7 were chuunin. Sasuke thought that the rest of the town would forget the fact that he was blind and except him being a chuunin. But he was wrong. Actually, they seemed to hate it more. What were they thinking letting him pass?

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Haruno Sakura still looks back on the day when Uchiha Sasuke joined her team and smiles. She was very happy. He was the most handsome boy that she ever met. He even had his own fan club consisting of many girls trying to get his attention. It didn't even bother them that he was blind, but he ignored them knowing that they only liked him because of his looks. Many had told him how handsome he was.

Sakura knew that maybe no one would ever be able to break through the ice that surrounded his heart. He had been through a lot over the years and she couldn't even begin to imagine how he felt. Still, she made it her goal to melt the ice and make him more of a…well human. There was no other way to put it. He was cold to everyone and shut himself up in his house when he wasn't training. That couldn't be healthy could it? All he ever did was bottle up his emotions. Sure he was handsome, but she had no romantic interest in him…she had gotten to know him over the past two years and well lets just say he wasn't the sort of man you would want to marry later on. But what could she do to help him? She had tried everything, from asking him to spend some time with her and Naruto after training to bringing him presents or throwing a little party for him on his birthday. But nothing worked.

She was currently getting ready to leave for training. She had just finished checking she had all her tools, when someone knocked on her door.

"A message for you Haruno Sakura from the Hokage. She would like to see you in her office in five minutes. Thank you." And with that the dark haired girl slightly older than Sakura turned and left.

"Five minutes? But that means I'll be late for training!" Sakura spoke to thin air. She hated to be late for anything especially something as important as training. But if she didn't hurry, she would be late for her meeting with Tsunade.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

There came a knock on the door to the Hokage's office five minutes later.

"Come in Sakura." She answered. Sakura did as she was told and soon found her self staring at a very troubled looking Tsunade.

"Um, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes…As you might have been hearing around town, not many people are happy that Sasuke made it passed the chuunin exams." The fifth began.

So this was about Sasuke? Interesting.

"Well, I have been hearing things but I didn't think tha-" Sakura started.

"It has come to be a very serious issue." The Hokage interrupted. "As such, they do not think that he should be allowed to stay with Team 7. They say that there has never been a blind ninja in Konoha since the days before my grandfather. They also believe that he is not strong enough and that his goal to become high ranking is nonsense." At this Sakura's heart fell. How was she supposed to help him now?

"B-but can't you do something about it?" Sakura asked, after all Tsunade was the Hokage.

"I am only one person. The town comes first. But I have made a sort of…bargain. They say that if he receives a tutor to help him out, they won't be as displeased." The Hokage suddenly looked very tired and stressed.

"What!" Why a tutor? Sakura didn't understand. She thought that all the tutors that he had received quit their jobs after the first day…

"Exactly what I thought. It's an absolutely ridiculous idea. What can come of him from having a tutor? He has Kakashi to teach him, but I figured that maybe what they mean by 'help him out' is that we need someone to sort of break the ice. He has been pushing everyone away and insists that he doesn't need help. Personally I think it's a cry for help. His parents did die in that horrible accident 6 years ago and being an orphan it has to be hard on him. I'm just not so sure if the people are so concerned about Sasuke himself or if they just don't want a sightless boy becoming a ninja. Do you understand Sakura?"

"Well yes sort of. I just wanted to ask what this has to do with me." Somehow Sakura knew exactly what was coming…

"I want you Sakura to become his tutor. I figured it should be someone from his team that sort of knows what he's like and seeing as Naruto isn't exactly tutor material I chose you for the job. You will be staying at his house. It is quite large and I think having someone else there will do him some good. You only have one month to do so unfortunately, after that if you haven't gotten through to him, he will be removed from the Team and stripped of his ranking as chuunin." The Hokage said studying Sakura's expression.

She was stunned. She wasn't sure what to say. She was happy that she still had time to see if she could help Sasuke, but at the same time there was this unsettling feeling that she would be spending all of her time with him. He wasn't exactly the sort of person who wanted others around. She felt like she would be intruding. But if she didn't at least try, she would feel guilty about him being taking off of Team 7 and stripped of his ranking.

"Ok…I'll um do it…" she answered after a moment of silence.

"Great. You'll start tomorrow morning. But right now you should go meet up with your team because if I'm not mistaken you are very very late."

A/N: Ok well that's chapter one. Hope you liked it. It turned out very differently. Grrrr I hate the stupid town's people, always pitying Sasuke for being blind. I just hate that! They can be just as strong as people with sight! Shout out to **left-alone** for thinking the same way! You so rock! Thanks to my reviewers! Princess Sakura Haruno, dark-wolf-soulX, Lone Sakura and of course left-alone.


	3. Chapter 2: Emerald Tears

**Chapter 2: Emerald Tears**

He sat up with a start, cold sweat on his face. He had that same dream every night. It was the very last scenes he had seen in his life. The accident that had claimed his parents. It was then that he realized that he couldn't hear anyone on the streets outside for it was pouring rain. He hated the rain. It was the first thing he heard after losing his sight and it seemed to rain a lot more since that day of tragedy. Or maybe it was just because he could hear it and pay more attention to it that it seemed to rain more. Either way he still hated it. When it rained he couldn't hear things as clearly, and his remaining senses were distorted.

He got up throwing the blankets off to the side. He didn't care what time it was, there was no way he would be able to get back to sleep anyways. He went to his dresser and pulled out some clothes which were always washed and folded and put into the second drawer to the left. This way he knew exactly what he was putting on without having to see them. He went to the bathroom and slowly took a shower. There was no rush to hurry knowing that it would be several hours before he would have to go train. But then again, he was only guessing at what the time was.

When he got out he couldn't help himself thinking that six years ago he would still be in bed sleeping soundly with his parents in the next room down the hall. He quickly shook the thought knowing that those days were long gone. He was alone. Always was and always will be, no matter how many people came to visit. But he didn't care, the only person he could trust was himself. There was no need for anyone else to come bursting into his life then there already was. He headed downstairs.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

The rain came harder and faster as a girl with pink hair ran towards her destination cursing the useless umbrella. She ran right up to the door of a slightly large house and nearly bashed it down wanting sanctuary from this rain shower that soaked her to the bone. Instead she knocked loudly hoping that the owner of the house would answer.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Just as he reached the kitchen, he heard someone knocking on the door. Who could it be at this time? Wasn't it too early? And as far as he knew no relatives were supposed to arrive for at least another three weeks.

He answered the door and felt a person push past him. He closed the door and at once recognized the faint scent of cherry blossoms through the smell of dampness. It was the Haruno girl from his team. It must have been later then he first guessed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't want any company.

Sakura was slightly surprised that he knew who she was and also the fact that he didn't know why she was there. Hadn't the Hokage told him yet?

'_Oh, this was going to be fun…_' she thought.

"Hello to you too then." She answered in that same annoying voice he heard everyday. She looked around the house and realized no lights were on. But that was to be expected. He didn't need any lights, he couldn't see. She turned her attention back to Sasuke and for the first time she saw his eyes. They were a misty grey and she found herself lost in their depths.

Sasuke grew uncomfortable as he realized that she was staring at him. He knew when people were looking at him on the street with those pitying stares, but she wasn't looking at him with pity, she was looking at him with wonder. Then he realized that he wasn't wearing anything to cover his eyes. He quickly turned away.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"I'm going to be your new tutor." She stated bluntly. There was no point delaying the inevitable. As she expected, he didn't show any emotions.

"Get out." He said more viciously than Sakura had expected.

"No, I won't." She was just standing there soaking wet trying to convince the coldest guy in town that she had the right to stay in his house and intrude on his life.

"I said leave." He said stoically.

"And I told you no!" she said sternly. He turned back towards her.

"Why?"

"The Hokage has chosen me for this job. If you have a problem with it go take it up with her." She answered defiantly.

"Fine. I will." With that he turned opened the door, and stormed out slamming it behind him, leaving a very stunned Sakura on her own. She quickly hurried to the window in the living room and looked out. She hoped to see him turning around, realizing that he just left one of his team members in his home on her own. But instead he continued on, and for the first time she saw him stumble. That was very unlike him. But maybe it was just the rain that was nullifying his perspectives. He normally took care to make sure he didn't make it too obvious he was blind and she knew why. Everybody thought that blind people were weaker than those with sight. She wanted to tell them how wrong they were and she hoped that helping him pass the exams was enough to show them that the boy she saw retreating into the dreary morning was actually very very strong willed.

Since she could no longer see him, she turned away from the window and looked around the house, forgetting what had just occurred. It was very large and very simple. There were the usual furnishings required for everyday living, but not a single picture or painting was to be seen. All the colors were neutral or dark including browns, deep blues and blacks. And as she looked around the rest of the home she felt as if something were missing. Though she knew the house was occupied it felt strangely cold and almost abandoned as if not one happy moment had been spent in this house for a long long time. When she reached the first bedroom nearest the stairs she looked in. It was obviously his room. The bed was unmade and it looked as if someone spent a lot of their time in this room. Nothing was different from the rest of the house save for one small picture on the bedside table.

It was a picture of Sasuke and his parents, just before the accident, judging by the date on the back.

A single tear fell from her emerald eyes as she saw how happy he looked. His smile was radiant and she had trouble recognizing that it was the same boy that she had encountered ten minutes ago. He looked so happy, calm and peaceful. She wondered if that is what he would be like now if it wasn't for the accident.

"What the hell are you doing?" a cold voice came from the doorway. She turned around and nearly dropped the picture. He was back.

"I-I was just-"She stammered. She knew she had intruded too far this time by the look on his face.

"What?" He demanded. He looked livid. She wiped the tear away as he approached her. She knew it was stupid but somehow she knew he would know that she was crying.

She had been snooping around his room and had no doubt found that picture. He came up to her and put his hand on her upper arm. She shivered as she felt his strong hand slide down her arm and stop at her hand where she held the photo. He knew it. She had seen the only picture he owned. He snatched it away from her.

"You are never to come back in here! Do you understand me?" he asked her. His face barely an inch away from hers. His eyes weren't exactly focused on hers but she felt the full ferocity of them. He pushed her out of his way and shoved the picture into the top drawer on the bedside table.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." She managed to croak out.

"The world is full of 'didn't mean to's." He snapped back. He was angry. "Now go get your shit and bring it to the spare bedroom." Her eyes widened in shock.

"I'm staying?" she asked, bewilderment overwhelming the guilt.

"It's not like I have any choice in the matter now is it?" he replied dully. He obviously wasn't impressed. Sakura wondered how much of the truth Tsunade had told him. She couldn't have told him the real reason why she was here, so what made him change his mind? That, she thought, is something she'll probably never know.

She hurried out of the room not chancing a glance back. She knew she'd never dare go back in there. Not when he could find out, anyways.

She went downstairs and grabbed her suitcase. Then she hulled it back up the stairs, and brought it to the room across from his. She opened the door and found herself in another place devoid of happiness. The walls were white, the bed had black blankets, the curtains were also black and the furniture was brown. She sighed at the depressed mood surrounding her new living quarters. She was dreading the fact that in an hour's time she would have to go train in this miserable weather.

After unpacking, Sakura sat on the edge of her bed mentally giving herself a pat on the back. She had made it through day one.

A/N: Haha chapter 2 is done! Hope u guys liked this one, im still trying to get their personalities right but that should show more in the next chapter. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! Thanks to my reviewers:

Dr. Helvic: Thank you so much for your reviews they inspired me to keep writing! Ur awesome!

Lone Sakura: Thanks for reviewing again! XD

Princess Sakura Haruno: Hahaha! I hate em too! Thanks for saying u like it! Sasuke and Sakura sooo rule! Lol

Left-alone: Thank you thank you! Lol I dunno about having better thinking power lol I'm having a lot of writers block lately! And with school just around the corner I think that my uploading speed might slow down…but as long as I keep getting reviews I'll try harder! Ur amazing! Thanks sooo much for reviewing!


	4. Chapter 3: You're One Step Closer

**Chapter 3: You're One Step Closer**

Sakura woke up the next morning with bags under her eyes and for a second she forgot where she was. But one look at the dreary décor and she recalled immediately what happened. So it wasn't just a bad dream after all?

She stood up and in her pink nightgown went to the double glass doors and pulled back the thick black curtains. She slid open the door and stepped onto the cool grey stone that made up the balcony. It was small but it overlooked the back of the house. The garden was fairly overgrown but off in the distance she could see the trees of a forest.

As fresh air rushed into her lungs, her thoughts brought her back to the hell of a day that was yesterday. Since the moment she arrived, to the picture fiasco to when they came home after training all was a hellish nightmare. They had come back to the Uchiha home and as soon as they came through the front door, Sasuke had rushed to his room and locked himself in never coming out even to eat.

Sakura wasn't any better though. She was dead tired and also went to her room and collapsed onto the bed. But at least she attempted some communication and all she got out of it was the door of Sasuke's bedroom slamming in her face.

He was so cold and ignorant and never gave a damn about anyone else but himself! Now it was looking as if she could never change that and her desire to even try was fading away being replaced by a sort of hatred. In one simple word he was a jerk. And she wanted to leave. She didn't want to stay here in this miserable house with the anti-social jerk living in the room across from hers. What was she thinking when she accepted Tsunade's request?

Oh yeah that's right. He was in jeopardy of losing his title as chuunin. And being the person she was she was going to try and help him no matter how much of a bastard he was being. And besides it wasn't as if she could back out now…

With that last thought calming her nerves and finalizing her decision to stay, she retreated to the gloomy bedroom.

She walked over to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. Kakashi had told them to take a few days off from training and Sakura had a funny feeling that it had something to do with her staying at Sasuke's. Her usual outfit was soaked in rain water and mud and was tossed carelessly into the laundry basket in the bathroom down the hall. So she pulled out a pink t-shirt and baggy white cargo pants, and took a shower.

Once she was wearing the bright clothes she looked in the mirror and saw how much she stood out from the rest of the room. Then the idea hit her. She could change the room to make it more suitable to live in. She was staying for a month after all and she could always change it back before she left. Maybe she would go shopping later and pick out some nice lighter curtains or maybe some new bed sheets and…

As her thoughts of renovating the room whizzed around her mind she left her bedroom and headed towards the kitchen to find something to eat. The door to Sasuke's room, as it had been all night, was closed and for a second she thought to wake him up but then realized that maybe that wasn't such a good idea after what had happened yesterday. And besides there was always that chance that he was already awake and only kept the door shut to be alone in the dark confines of his room. Without anyone bothering him.

With a sigh, she walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. There was barely anything on the counter top. She turned to the fridge and opened it.

It was completely empty.

For a second she thought she was just seeing things. How could he have no food in the fridge? She closed the door and started searching the cupboards. And still there was nothing. Not even a grain of salt. It was unbelievable. What did he eat? Or what the hell was she going to eat?

Furious she stormed back up the stairs and knocked on his door. There was no response so she knocked harder. And again no one answered.

"Uchiha I know you're awake so would you just open the door?" she demanded. Her team mate was so stubborn sometimes she could scream. But she didn't and she stayed calm as she knocked again even louder this time that she was almost banging the door down.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

What the hell did that stupid girl want? With a sigh he got up and very slowly headed to the door. Still he didn't open it and he could her muffled curses coming from the other side of the door. It was somehow amusing to hear how frustrating it was for her. As she banged even harder, he finally opened the door.

That scent of cherry blossoms wafted into his room and he could sense the tension in her body. She was angry.

"What do you want now?" he asked coldly.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Is that how he answered to everyone who wanted to talk to him? Geez that guy needed some major social lessons.

"You have no food in your kitchen!" she blurted out.

He was wearing a black turtleneck and baggy black pants. Most of him blended into the room, except for his misty grey eyes. Which he had once again forgotten to cover. He was staring almost exactly at her and she found it unnerving.

"No shit." He replied sarcastically.

'_Why that ignorant sun of a … Calm down Sakura it's ok. He's like this all the time.' _

"Well, what are we supposed to eat?" she asked keeping her calm.

"Don't know don't really care." He replied stoically.

"You mean to tell me you never eat anything!"

"When I'm hungry, I get food. When I'm not hungry I don't eat. And right now I'm not hungry." He replied as if he were stating the obvious. And once again he slammed the door on her face.

Nearly bashing down the door and strangling him for being so rude, Sakura calmed down once again and reminded herself why she was here. She wasn't going to let his attitude scare her away. She was going to stand her ground and tell him what was what. Starting with what she was going to do now.

"Listen up. I know you're not used to it but I'm going shopping and this house is going to have some decent food for once." With that she turned and left.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Sasuke listened to her retreating footsteps and he knew she meant it. God she was annoying. He didn't want her to stay, so he would keep treating her like he always did. Yesterday when he went to see Tsunade she had told him a pack of lies that Sakura was here to give him some advice on how to be more social. But he knew better. He wasn't even close to being stupid. Sakura was here to help change him. To help him become more open. Well guess what, she can go to hell for all he cared. He was only letting her stay because it was the Hokage's wishes.

He wanted her to leave and stay out of his life. He was perfectly fine on how it was without her here. To him she was intruding. She was just an annoying team mate sent by the Hokage to meddle with his life. Well guess what? It's hard to change a person.

Especially when they don't want to be changed.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

As Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha with multiple shopping bags full of food, she ran into Naruto.

"Hey Sakura-chaannnn!" He yelled from two feet away from her, making the others on the street look in their direction before continuing on with their business.

"Oh hey Naruto," she said. Great. Last thing she wanted was to have him around at a time like this…But maybe he would help her carry some things.

"So how's the living block of ice doing? Any improvement?" Naruto asked.

Sakura couldn't suppress a laugh. Maybe having Naruto around could do her some good.

"Other than he's still being a big pigheaded ignorant jerk, and I don't think I'm getting through to him and I still have 29 miserable days left, I think it's turning out swell." She replied sarcastically.

"Oh sounds like you're having fun!" Naruto laughed. He thought it was a really big joke and Sakura would have punched him for laughing at her predicament if she wasn't carrying a whole bunch of groceries.

"Hey, Naruto would you mind helping me carry some of these back to the Grim's house?" She asked.

"Ummmm let me think about that…" he started. Sakura glared at him.

"Just joking Sakura-chan." He took most of the bags and they both went back to Sasuke's. It was the least he could do. She looked like hell. She had bags under her eyes and looked sort of discouraged.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

As they entered Sasuke's house and put the groceries in the kitchen, Sasuke actually came out of his room. He had heard two voices talking to each other and was curious as to who they were.

"What the hell is that dobe here for?" he asked, hands stuffed in his pockets. He could tell by the dobe's voice and his smell that the blonde was in his kitchen, something he thought would never happen.

"He's helping me with the groceries." Sakura snapped at him before Naruto could start an argument.

"Hey Sakura-chan, where do you want these?" Naruto was holding up three rather large bags.

"Oh, just give those to me." Sakura got up and took the bags and rushed passed Sasuke to her room. Not three seconds later, the pink haired girl was back in the kitchen acting like she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.

Naruto decided it better not to ask any questions. It was obvious she didn't want Sasuke to know what was in those bags.

"So um, I'm going now." Naruto said as Sakura just finished putting away the last of the groceries.

"Finally." Sasuke said at the same time as Sakura said "No!"

"What?" Sasuke asked and directed his gaze to where he knew by her faint pink aura Sakura was standing.

"Naruto should stay for breakfast." Sakura said. It would be step one in helping Sasuke out. They should all eat together and give him some company. Also, she didn't really want to stay here alone with Sasuke. She shivered involuntarily as he stared at her with his unseeing eyes.

Naruto looked between the two of them and realized that Sasuke wasn't wearing his usual sunglasses to cover his eyes.

"Hey! Sasuke-loser, you forgot to cover your eyes! They look so cool." He said. Sakura groaned inwardly. Good job Naruto, way to ruin it.

Instinctively Sasuke reached up and covered his eyes. He turned around and headed to the stairs. He tripped over the first step and almost fell. He wasn't concentrating on where he was going and felt that he was helpless again as Sakura rushed to his side to help him stand up straight. He hit her hands away and went up the stairs, stumbling every so often but never falling. God how he hated to look pathetic and weak.

"Uchiha come back here! You have to eat!" Sakura yelled from the bottom of the staircase. He stopped just in front of the door to his room.

"I'm not hungry. Leave me alone." He replied savagely. He entered and slammed the door behind him.

"Was it something I said?" Naruto asked. Sakura just glared at him.

"Let's eat. No point in letting this food go to waste." Sakura said dully. Step one failed. Was there any hope in getting through to Sasuke? Man, she should be getting paid for this job.

As they sat at the kitchen table eating their breakfast, Sakura came up with an idea that was almost perfect in helping her with her almost impossible job.

"Hey, Naruto?" She asked.

"What's up Sakura-chan?" he replied happily digging into his eggs.

"I think I know what might cheer Uchiha up…" she started.

Why was she telling Naruto?

Well, even though she thought her plan was fool proof, she was still going to need all the help she could get.

She wasn't going to give up…

Not yet anyways.

A/N: Yea I'm ending it there…What's Sakura's fool-proof plan? Well you're going to have to wait till the next chapter to find out. Keep R&Ring and I'll upload faster. Thanks to all my reviewers:

animangacraze: why thank you! I'm glad you like it!

sweetmaiden: Wow you reviewed to all the chapters! Thank you so much! Lol I'll keep writing as long as you keep reviewing!

psychedelic aya: Thanks! Yea I know I wanted to make Sasuke seem that way because in any other stories I read he's always the strong one and I just wanted to see what would happen if he would need Sakura's help for once lol

left-alone: I'm gonna keep updating as long as you keep updating Seek. Omg I love that story. Everyone should check it out! Thank u for reviewing again! U reviewed to every chapter! That rox!


	5. Chapter 4: Inevitable

**Chapter 4: Inevitable**

"Come on, tell me Sakura-chan!" Naruto says, deserting his breakfast.

"Oh, it's perfect! It's the number one best thing to get Sasuke to liven up a little. And it'll be so much fun for us too and-"Sakura started to babble on and on.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto interrupted, "Just get to the point. What are we going to do?"

"We're going to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival! Isn't it the best idea you've ever heard of?" Sakura asked.

"Uh…" Naruto was speechless. This wasn't what he was expecting. But how could he tell her that going **there **of all places was the absolute worst idea he'd ever heard? Especially since she was so excited about it, but then again he was more afraid of what would happen if she told Sasuke.

"It's fool proof. And I've gone every year so I know exactly the best spots and I love all the Cherry Blossoms and-" She started to point out all the best things about the Festival then started to head towards the stairs to tell Sasuke.

"No wait! Sakura-chan I don't think-"Naruto started as he rushed after her.

"Quiet Naruto, I want it to be a surprise…" She scolded him as they stood in front of the Uchiha's door. She knocked. Naruto just turned deathly pale as he knew nothing he could say would change her mind. The first thing that ran through his mind was get the hell out of there, but he couldn't leave Sakura to her doom.

"I said leave me alone if you didn't hear me the first time…" Came the grouchy and annoyed voice of Sasuke from the other side of the door. Why couldn't they leave him alone?

"Come here and open the door I have something to tell you." Sakura replied calmly as ever. Nothing was going to ruin her plan. Maybe her job would be over earlier than a month, and she wouldn't have to put up with Uchiha's attitude for much longer…

"No, piss off." He replied. In a few seconds he was going to get angry if they didn't leave. It was bad enough they were there in the first place but to tell him he couldn't be alone was pushing it.

"If you don't open the door I'm coming in there anyways so it's your choice. We could do this the polite way or my way." Sakura replied. Her patience was running on low already.

Suddenly from the other side from the door there was a shuffling noise and the door clicked open. "You think that scares me?" Sasuke growled.

"It worked didn't it?" Sakura asked the boy, who was now wearing his sunglasses.

He stood stiffly in the doorway to his dark bedroom, and his jaw was set.

"Well, now what the hell did you want?" He asked in a deathly whisper.

"We're gonna go somewhere together." Sakura said.

"No way am I going with you anywhere." He replied stoically.

"Not just me idiot, Naruto too." She replied back.

"Whatever. I'm still not going anywhere." He went to close the door but she held it back.

"Would you just listen? You don't even know where I wanna take you!"

"Sakura-chan, if he doesn't want to go anywhere than let's just leave him alone. We could always just go ourselves." Naruto spoke up, his voice shaky.

"No, Naruto you know why I want to take Sasuke, this isn't about enjoying ourselves! I thought you thought it was a good idea!" Sakura asked startled at Naruto sudden change of mind.

"No, hold on. Where does she want to take me that you don't want me to know about dobe?" Sasuke questioned, as he let go of the door, letting Sakura back off.

"Oh, uh nowhere. It's nothing actually. Sakura-chan, let's just go!" Naruto was getting desperate. Any second now Sasuke would know and then it would get ugly. As long as he kept Sakura away from him everything would be-

"Why don't we go to the Cherry Blossom Festival?" Sakura blurted out before Naruto could delay her for much longer. Naruto nearly groaned, but was caught off guard by the sudden look on Sasuke's face.

"What's wrong Uchiha?" Sakura was confused by the look of anger, disgust and sadness that washed over the cold and calm face of Sasuke.

"DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY! WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE ARE YOU PLAYING AT HARUNO!" He yelled at her full force. She tried to answer him but was frozen to the spot unable to speak. He looked livid again, but different than the time he found her in his room. He looked ready to kill. She was so confused and shocked that she barely saw him storm off, grab his jacket and slam the front door behind him. If she wasn't still rooted to the spot she would have been amazed that he hadn't even fumbled once, then would have chased after him. But his angered face still blazed in her mind.

What did she do wrong?

Naruto recovered first.

"Sakura-chan? Are you ok?" He whispered. After that fiasco, it was hard to regain your bearings. They had never seen Sasuke so angry before, let alone hear him yell like that. It was surreal.

Finally snapping out of it she rounded on Naruto.

"What the hell just happened?" She asked. "Why did he just-just storm off like that! It was just a suggestion!" She continued. She looked ready to cry with the frustration surging through her.

"I tried to tell you." Naruto said defensively.

"Tell me what!" She screamed.

"He was on the way to the Cherry Blossom Festival when the accident happened. It's probably one of the worst places in the world for him. I'm sorry; I really did try to tell you." With that, Naruto walked back down the stairs and reached the front door.

"I think it's better if I just leave you alone for a while." Naruto said as he opened the door and left.

Oh god. What had she done?

Sakura went to her room and closed the door. She headed to the balcony and looked out to the morning sky. It had become overcast and it looked as if it were about to rain. Visions of Sasuke getting angry and slamming the door behind him flooded through her mind. Why hadn't she listened to Naruto?

She returned to her room and decided to get out of these bright clothes that seemed so out of place with everything that surrounded her and what just happened.

She put on a tight fitting black tank top and baggy black cargo pants. Then she put her short hair into a ponytail tied with a black ribbon. Her jade eyes had lost their shine, as the thought of ruining maybe the only chance at helping the cold emotionless boy Sasuke rushed through her mind. Why did she care so much that he was so cold and emotionless most of the time? It was killing her that she couldn't help him. Because of what happened…No one deserved to go through what he had over the years. She felt sorry for him. But she would never tell him that, he hated people that felt sorry for him.

She returned to the balcony to drown herself in her thoughts. As she had predicted, it started to rain. She loved it when it rained. It seemed to wash away all of the worlds worries and pains, including her own. As the rain fell, and the drops slid down her pale face they mixed with the tears that had started to fall. The rain was warm and soothing in the spring air. But nothing could help her feel better.

**You speak to me  
I know this will be temporary  
You ask to leave  
But I can tell you that I've had enough  
I can't take it  
This welcome is gone and I've waited long enough  
to make it  
and if you're so strong you might as well just do it alone  
and I'll watch you go**

Maybe it was better for her to leave. Quit this job that just wasn't turning out the way she had wanted it to. Quit. Give up. Forget.

**Step up to me  
I know that you've got something buried  
I'll set you free  
you set conditions but I've had enough  
I can't take it  
this welcome is gone  
and I've waited long enough  
to make it  
and if you're so strong you might as well just do it alone  
and I'll watch you go**

Her welcome was gone. It was time for her to leave. She couldn't handle him any more. And he certainly didn't want her there anymore. If she stayed she would have to wait for him to come back. Then things would be weird. She had made a huge mistake.

**come back home won't you come back home  
you step in line you've got a lot to prove  
it comes and goes ya it comes and goes  
a step in time ya its a lot to move  
I know this will be temporary  
I know this will be Temporary  
I know this will be but I've had enough  
I can't take it**

She couldn't take it anymore. Her anger and frustration were off the scale, and now she was feeling guilt on top of it all. Never in her life had she felt this horrible.

**This welcome is gone and I've waited long enough  
to make it  
and if your so strong you might as well just do it alone  
and I'll watch you go  
I can't take it  
this welcome is gone and I've waited long enough  
to make it  
and if you're so strong you might as well just do it alone  
and I'll watch you go**

But then she remembered why she had to stay. She had to change him to make sure he didn't lose all that he had worked hard for. He would lose his title as chuunin and she couldn't let that happen. It was especially hard for him to become a great ninja since he was blind. And he had come so far…

With that thought, she re-entered the house and headed to the front door; opening it, she paused before stepping out.

Looking out through the rain she knew that once she left there was no turning back. She was going to go find him. And tell him she was sorry. Even if he was cold-hearted and a jerk, she would have to say she was sorry. Even someone like him didn't deserve what had happened.

She made up her mind and closed the door behind her as she headed out into the rain. Even though she didn't want to stay anymore, she knew she would have to face the consequences.

It was inevitable.

A/N: Ok there's chapter four…So Sakura's plan was the worst idea ever, but at least now she knows what not to do. The song I used was Can't Take It by The All-American Rejects. I didn't really like this song but it just seemed perfect for the story at that point where she thought her welcome was gone and almost left. Thankfully she remembered what would happen if she did…But now what's going to happen when she meets up with the fuming Sasuke? Read and review for the next chapter which will be up as soon as possible. It sucks that school is back so I'm loaded with piles of projects and homework so I'll try my hardest to update faster for Broken Tears and Missing. Anyways thanks to all my reviewers who reviewed for the last chapter! There were so many of you!

Left-alone: Wow thank you! Hope that I didn't keep you waiting too long. Thanks for reviewing again!

Sagitarious Devil: Haha well thank you for reviewing again! That makes me really happy! So glad you like it! Love ur name!

Sweetmaiden: yea let's hope Sakura can change that Sasuke's starting to piss me off and I'm the one making him that way o.O lol thanks for reviewing again. What did you think about this one?

Babii-kitti: thank you for liking it! Hope I'll be able to update faster than I have been lately…Stupid school lol

Sasuki-chan: Merci beacoup! Yea I know it will be really hard for Sakura to get Sasuke to stop having such an attitude problem…lol Thanx again!

Amazoness: lol thank you for reviewing hehe!

Princessmoi: Wow thank you so much ur so totally incouraging! I luv it! I'll try updating sooner!

Dr. Helvic: Lol thanks for the tips on my grammar and such I'm so bad at it and typos too so if u see anything else that's bad let me know! It helps soo much! Thanks for reviewing!

Stargazer92: Don't worry I will! And I'll try doing it faster too! Next chappie might be up either half way through the week or next Saturday depending on when field hockey try outs start! TY!

Luv, Robbin13 XD


	6. Chapter 5: Meant to Live

**Chapter 5: Meant to Live**

Sakura stumbled through the rain. Her clothes stuck to her body and her messy hair was plastered to her face. But it wasn't uncomfortable; the rain was soothing and warm. She had been searching for hours now, and still there was no sign of the Uchiha. She had looked everywhere she could think of. The only place that was left was the forest. So she turned and headed off in that direction.

She had to say she was sorry, even if she disliked him. No, it wasn't just dislike; for once in her life she thought she actually hated him. He was so ignorant and rude and had the worst attitude. He was so cold and distant and made her so frustrated. Now he probably hated her too. Even so, he didn't deserve any of the things that had happened to him. She might hate him, but she couldn't ignore the sadness every time she looked at him.

As she entered the forest, the rain came harder and faster. She continued on and ended up getting cut by the low hanging branches. They cut into her pale bare arms, leaving deep scratches. She took her ribbon from her hair letting it fall around her shoulders, and tied it around one of the deeper cuts on her upper arm. She cursed herself for being so clumsy, but a few scratches weren't going to keep her from doing what she had to do.

She soon came to a clearing that had one of the largest trees of Konoha in the center. There, underneath the slight shelter of the leaves, sat the Uchiha.

A small smile appeared on her lips, she had finally found him. She hurried forward. No turning back now.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

He sat in the only spot he could find sanctuary from the world. He had been there millions of times, and he knew almost instinctively how far it was from his home. Damn this rain. He had tripped and stumbled many times on his way here. And he cursed every time; it made him feel weak, pathetic and vulnerable… But still he had pushed on using the sounds of the rain hitting off the trees and ground to guide him.

Damn that girl. She had to leave. For all he cared he never wanted to be near her ever again. She was just so damn annoying…

Or was it him that should leave? He sat under the protection of the leaves in the spring shower letting the few drops of rain fall on his face. Why was he the only one that had to survive the accident?

**Fumbling his confidence  
and wondering why the world has passed him by  
Hoping that he's bent for more than arguments,  
and failed attempts to fly.  
To fly.**

Wouldn't it just have been easier if he had died along with his parents? It hurt more that they were gone and that they left him. And now he was also blind. He had lost one of the most precious things that made the Uchiha name…His eyesight. This was not how he wanted it to be.

**We were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
Somewhere we live inside  
somewhere we live inside  
we were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
Somewhere we live inside**

But maybe there was a reason that he survived. Was he meant to live? But why? Why put him through such pain and misery and let him dwell on his sorrows?

**Dreaming about Providence  
And whether mice and men have second tries  
Maybe we've been living with our eyes half open  
Maybe we're bent and broken. Broken**

What that girl had said had pushed him off the edge. In her eyes, she probably thought of him as a weak, depressed, pathetic boy and also pitied him. He hated that. He hated her. She was just so in the way. A nuisance. Annoying. In the back of his mind he knew that maybe that wasn't the way she saw him, and yet that was the way he felt. But still. Maybe he was meant to live. To prove to not only himself, but to everyone that he could succeed. No matter his disabilities. And he was going to do it by himself. Without any help. Especially not from her.

**We were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
Somewhere deep inside  
Somewhere deep inside  
We were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
Somewhere deep inside**

Then he felt it. It was faint, but still it was there and he knew she was too. He felt a faint pink aura approaching him and the soft smell of cherry blossoms. How he hated that…

**We want more than this world's got to offer  
We want more than this world's got to offer  
We want more than the wars of our fathers  
And everything inside screams for second life**

She was standing beside him now. He continued to stare straight ahead. Ignoring her. And yet he could not ignore the faint smell of salt mixed with the smell of rain. Was she crying?

**We were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
We were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
We were meant to live for so much more  
have we lost ourselves?  
We were meant to live  
we were meant to live**

"I-I'm so sorry…" she says, as she sits down next to Sasuke.

He didn't say anything; he just continued to ignore her. Sorry didn't even begin to cut it.

"Damn it Sasuke! Say something!" She practically yelled.

Sasuke? She called him Sasuke for the first time in forever.

"I didn't know! I swear…If I did I never would have said anything it's just-" Sakura started.

"Just leave." He finally said.

"What? No! I won't." She started to shake with frustration.

"Why not?" he turned to her direction. His sunglasses were off, and his stunningly beautiful eyes made her heart skip a beat.

"Because, I want to help you." She said quietly. This was stupid. Why was she crying?

"I don't want your help. I'm fine on my own." Sasuke said dangerously.

Then there was silence between the two of them, only the sounds of the pouring rain could be heard. God how she hated him.

"Well that's just too bad because I'm not going anywhere. For once in your life could you just swallow your pride and open up just a little?" She asked.

Why was she so damn persistent? God how he hated her.

The silence came again. It was enough to make her go mad. It was as if they were frozen in time. Him looking in her direction with his misty grey eyes and her sitting there waiting for him to say something. Finally he looked away, and stood up, moving out of the shelter of the tree and into the rain. If Sakura didn't hate his guts she would have noticed how handsome he was, with his normally spiky hair flattened by the rain.

"Let's go." Was all he said and he turned to the direction of the trees.

Maybe it wasn't an 'I accept your apology' but it was still something. Without another glance back, Sakura stood and ran after the Uchiha.

They walked in silence most of the way, but when Sasuke nearly fell over a protruding root; Sakura took his arm and helped him regain his balance. To her surprise, he didn't pull away from her. They just kept walking.

So much for not needing her help.

They entered the Uchiha home not to long afterward, both soaking wet. She climbed up the stairs after him and they both entered their own rooms and closed their doors. Exact opposites.

She fumbled for some dry clothes and pulled out black pajama pants and put on a baggy black t-shirt. She towel dried her hair, and sat on her bed. She looked over by the door and saw the bags she had put there earlier. Then she remembered her initial plan to redecorate this dreary looking bedroom. She went over and took them to put them on her bed. She opened the first bag and pulled out white curtains. She opened the second and pulled out more light colored fabrics. A small smile appeared on her face. Maybe, just maybe there was still a chance that she could change this situation for the better…

In the room across the hall, Sasuke sat on his own bed, holding the same picture frame Sakura had found earlier. He knew exactly what the picture showed; he hoped he would never forget.

He wanted Sakura to leave, but he knew he would have a harder time trying to get rid of this tutor than any of the others before her. He remembered hearing her tell him how she wasn't going to leave no matter what. She definitely was determined, he could give her that much credit, but that didn't mean she was any less annoying.

A few hours later, there came a knock on his bedroom door. He didn't have to answer it to know exactly who it was, but he got up and opened it anyways.

"What?" he asked.

"Dinner's ready." She answered.

"I'm not hungry." He answered and he started to close the door on her again, when he felt her hold it open.

"How could you not be? You haven't eaten all day!" She asked incredulously.

"Fine. Whatever." He said and he stepped out of his room and started to go downstairs.

'Wow, that was easy,' Sakura thought astounded that the Uchiha hadn't argued more.

They both entered the kitchen and Sasuke smelled spaghetti instantly. He headed over to the table and picked up his plate while Sakura sat down at the other end of the table. He reached around and found a fork and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"To eat." He replied before climbing up the stairs and entering his room.

Sakura sat there staring at her food and sighed. She knew it was too good to be true. He would never actually sit and eat in the company of other human beings; no way, the idea itself was just preposterous.

But at least she had managed to get him to eat.

And more importantly she had fixed her mistake. As she dug into her plate of pasta, she made a vow to herself never to mention anything about that incident around him again. She had to admit, he was doing pretty well for a guy that hardly ever talked to anyone she could give him credit for that much, but that still didn't mean he was any less of a cold hearted bastard.

2 days out of 31 down.

This was going to be one of the longest months ever…

A/N: Ok so we could have expected that Sasuke wasn't going to flat out accept her apology but did he have to be so rude about it? Geez, but hey at least now things are sort of ok with them again (even if they do "hate" each other). The song I used is called Meant to Live by Switchfoot. Check it out if you have time…And lets hope that these two start warming up to each other soon…o.O Well that's all for now! Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks to my reviewers:

Left-alone: Thank u thank u!

Sagitarious Devil: lol yea Sasuke didn't exactly forgive her but meh that's just the way he is in this story, for now… Thanks for reviewing again!

Sweetmaiden: I tried to update sooner but stupid school had me doing tons of projects lol I'll try to do it faster and better: )

Princessmoi: lmao kay! U r sooooo cool! Ahahhaha

Stargazer92: Oh man im so bummed out! They had to cancel field hockey cuz not enough people signed up:( But thanks anyways!

Light angel: lol Yea I think at this point its not looking to good for Sakura and her goal to help him, but she will….or at least she better cuz Sasuke's attitude is really starting to bug me (and im the one who's making him like that….o.O) ty for reviewing!

Lone Sakura: well I'm glad ur back! Sorry but I can't resist putting songs in the story and I never knew that u couldn't…hmmm I'll have to check that out! Thanks for reviewing!

ZinumS-Black rainfall: interesting name! lol well thanks for reviewing!

And once again thanks to all of u! –Robbin13 :P


	7. Chapter 6: Eternal Darkness

**Chapter 6: Eternal Darkness**

Eternal darkness…is all he will ever see for the rest of his life. Never seeing the sun, the clouds, the stars, the moon, the sky…

No more colors.

Just darkness.

This is his life. Cold, empty, emotionless…Dark.

Even when he wakes up, there is always the smallest moment when he thinks he'll see something again…the light…

But then the pain comes as he realizes he will never see the light ever again, and then he starts his day in the cold empty darkness that has consumed his soul.

All his other senses were amplified. He could hear the smallest drop of a pin in the busiest and crowded streets downtown. He could feel all the jagged edges and scratches on a shiruken. He could smell the scent of a small flower in the largest training field through all the sweat and blood. When he ate anything at all, it had to be cooked to perfection for he could taste every little ingredient.

What he wouldn't give to be normal. To have his sight returned to him, then all the small things would go unnoticed.

No. He would stay blind. It made him stronger… It taught him that he could only depend on himself.

And as he stands there in backyard with the rain soaking his black tank top and black pants he once again cursed the frequent spring showers. Shiruken poised ready, he releases them in the direction of the targets, and faintly he can smell that annoying scent of cherry blossoms, sense the faint pink aura and hear her faint breathing through the downpour, as she stands on the balcony and watches him.

He pulls the shiruken out once again and prepares for another full assault. His hair and clothes drenched, he takes aim and hits every single target, dead on.

It amazed her. Not even once had he missed, not even by a millimeter. He had a deadly passion with every throw and such precision. She gave a depressed sigh as she watches him attack the targets continuously with every ounce of strength he could muster.

Even though it was raining, it was always soothing to her. Sometimes she wished spring would never end so all the flowers would stay in bloom and the wonderful spring showers could continue to cleanse the earth. That was her fantasy world.

But for now she would have to make do with the calming water as she looks at him, training.

She didn't understand how this cold hearted, ignorant bastard could be so, determined… She shakes her head and jumps down to the ground below and sits under the cover of the balcony above as she places her chin in her palm, elbow on her knee, and follows his every move.

All the while the training Uchiha followed her aura with his mind, knowing exactly where she was.

As he pulls the shiruken out of the target once more and gets ready for another attack he puts them away and pulls out kunai instead.

Holding one in each hand he advances to the targets and slowly breaks into a run. With incredible speed he pulls back the deadly weapons, spinning them wildly, and thrusts them forward just as the Haruno girl sneezes…

The kunai miss and for the first time all day the targets are bare of any weaponry.

Sakura's eyes widen. She guessed maybe there was a first time for everything.

"Damn." Sasuke mutters under his breath. Damn that girl. Wait, why was he blaming her? It wasn't her fault he missed. It was just, something about her affects him when she's around…It was so annoying, and he hated it. Just like he hated her and everything about her.

Sakura stands up and walks over to him, as he stands near the targets trying to catch his breath.

"You ok?" She asks. She couldn't believe she just asked him that after the way he treats her. But she had always been a nice, warm hearted person. After all that was the reason she accepted to help him in the first place. Even if it was someone else, or anyone else for that matter she would have helped them too especially if everything they were working for was about to be taken away…And she wasn't going to leave until she got the job done.

"…"

"Uchiha?" She asks. Why wasn't he saying anything? Not even an insult?

"What the hell are you doing out here? Go inside." He growls.

"I'm not leaving until you do." She says. She couldn't help but smile. She knew that no matter what he would be a jerk. She should have known better than to think that he wasn't going to say something rude like that.

He pauses.

"Fine. Whatever, do what you want. I don't care."

"I will, don't worry." She says and returns to her previous position.

Sasuke feels around for the weapons in the tall unkempt grass. Normally he would be able to tell by the sounds of the rain reflecting off the objects where they were but the grass was muffling the sounds.

Without warning, he cuts his hand open on the blade.

"Shit." He curses himself.

Sakura looks up. What happened? She couldn't tell from where she was sitting so she jumps up and appears before him.

Here, in front of him, she could see a steady stream of red surrounding his hands as he tries to quell the blood flow.

"What did you do?" She asks incredulously.

"None of your damn business." He snaps as he jumps up to the balcony, nearly stumbles, and dashes through her room to his own.

Still standing outside, she looks at the ground and sees the blood soaked kunai. She picks them up and wipes the blood off on her clothes. She was wearing her normal outfit, so it didn't matter if she got it dirty she had tons of other outfits just like it. Then, as she pockets them, she jumps up to her bedroom as well. She sees a small trail of blood and a bloody hand print on her door. Worried, she rushes to his bedroom door, which also had blood on the handle. Without knocking, she opens the door and sees a shirtless Sasuke bandaging his wounds. His head turns towards the door.

"Oh, s-sorry, I just thought you might have needed my help or something." She mumbles as she looks away.

"I told you to never come in here again. Now get out!" He yells at her.

She flinches and stumbles back and he slams the door on her. Again.

Anger rising, she storms off to her room to get out of the blood stained clothes. Cursing him and thinking of every possible way she could cause him pain.

An hour later, with nerves calmed, she enters the kitchen wondering what she could make for lunch.

Walking to the fridge in her pink skirt and white t-shirt with the word 'love' in pink letters across the front, she grinds her teeth together as she remembers all the times he had been rude to her in the past 2 days.

'_Remember why you're here…Just help him and then you'll never have to see him again if you don't want to.' _

She opens the fridge and lets out a frustrated cry. She didn't feel like making anything right now. And besides, she didn't like the thought of making food and having to go get the Uchiha to eat it. She knew it was cruel, but she went to the front door, put on her jacket and shoes and left the house. She was going out to eat. Besides, didn't the jerk always say he'd eat when he felt like it? Why did she have to cater to him?

Kakashi had been extra lenient with the training schedule. This month they would train every 3 days, meaning she's have plenty of time to spend with that bastard. She was starting to hate almost everyone now because of the Uchiha.

The rain had stopped now and the sun peeked out of the clouds every so often and the wind blew a gentle breeze. The air was fresh and she could hear the birds and the people on the streets going about their business. For a moment she forgot all her anger and felt finally relaxed now that she was out of that devils company.

Sasuke sat in his room. He wrapped the bandage around the deep gash in the palm of his hand over and over then ripped the end off with his teeth. The white cloth was instantly stained crimson. But he would never know this. He could only feel it seeping through the material. It didn't really hurt. No physical pain came anywhere close to the pain and suffering he had been through his whole life. He had never cried. Not since that day. He had never screamed out loud from pain. He never showed anyone that it hurt.

That girl had come barging in and seen him at a weak moment. That pushed him to his limits. He never wanted anyone to see him as the weak blind boy they all saw him as. He gritted his teeth and took a shower, washing away the sweat the blood and the dirt.

He never noticed the blood that kept seeping through the material, washing the crimson liquid down the drain. He never noticed the front door opening and closing.

He never heard her leave.

A young kunoichi sat down at a table in a small café not to far from the place she had just escaped.

"What would you like, miss?" A waiter asked, and pulled out a notepad.

"A French vanilla cappuccino and a croissant please." She answered.

"Certainly. Anything else?" The waiter questioned again as he scribbled on the notepad.

"No that will be-actually, I'd like another cappuccino and a bagel to go please." Sakura added when the image of a certain jerk came into her mind. She blushed slightly as the image was of him in his room the last time she saw him. Quickly removing the thought from her mind and remembering all the bastards' actions toward her, she scowled and added,

"That will be all thanks."

The waiter walked away and returned several minutes later with food and drinks in hand.

"Here you go, miss."

Sakura ate and paid, then left the little café. It was her favorite place to go on rainy days. She always sat by the window and watched the rain fall.

Holding Sasuke's meal in one hand and his coffee in the other she headed towards the house.

Unknowing that certain people were following her.

About a block away from the house, Sakura stopped as she noticed shadows moving around her.

"What the?" she started.

But she never got to finish her sentence as someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth. She tried screaming as she dropped the food, but only muffled noises came out. Sakura tried reaching for her kunai or her shiruken or for anything to help get out of the unknown person's strong grasp. But she didn't bring anything with her and she cursed herself. She looked up at her attacker and noticed the anbu mask.

Her mind went crazy with questions. 'Why were the anbu coming after her? Why were they capturing her in her own town? What did she do wrong? Did she leave Konoha sometime? Did she betray any of her village's secrets?' The answer to that question was no. She had no idea why they were attacking her.

Why? Why? Why?

Millions of questions ran through her mind.

Then the anbu member, who was greatly stronger than herself, wrestled her to the ground and got another member to tie a cloth around her mouth to keep from screaming, and tie up her hands. Next thing she knew was blackness.

Sasuke opened the door to his room and went downstairs. He felt around for any faint pink aura that might be near. To his surprise he felt nothing. She must have been in her room.

He opened the fridge and felt around for anything edible. He was hungry. He grabbed a yogurt and a spoon and climbed the stairs once again. Just before he entered his room he decided to check on the girl, just to make sure she wasn't doing anything she wasn't supposed to.

He headed towards her door and was surprised to find it was open. He knocked lightly then entered when there was no response. Even though it smelled fully of her cherry blossom scent, there was no pink aura, or the sound of her breathing. Nothing in this room indicated that it was currently occupied.

That was strange. If she wasn't downstairs or in her room where did she go? She wouldn't have left without telling him she was going would she? Thoughts of him slamming the door on her and yelling at her entered his mind. Maybe she did leave. But what did he care? It was good that she was gone.

He stepped onto the balcony and breathed in the damp air. He heard the crickets and the sounds of the wind blowing gently through the leaves. There were hardly any sounds of human civilization. It had to be night. Exactly how late was it? He wondered.

He entered the living room and turned on the television.

'_Welcome back to Konoha news at eleven.' _A newscaster reported.

It was eleven? Wasn't that late for that girl to be out? He turned off the TV.

He headed to the front door and threw on his jacket. Where ever that girl was he would be the one to have to go find her. He might hate her, and she might be annoying but she was his teammate and if anything happened to her he would be the one to blame.

A pink haired girl opened her eyes and lifted her head up groggily. She felt a horrible stinging pain on the side of her head where she had been knocked out. For a moment she couldn't remember anything.

She was sitting on a chair, hands and feet bound and a cloth in her mouth. She looked around the dimly lit room. She was in the middle and there was only one door, no windows. She spat the cloth out and tried pulling her bonds free, but to no avail.

Why did the anbu not kill her right then and there? Wasn't that what they did to traitors?

She knew she didn't do anything, she didn't betray any secrets…But if they thought she had they would have killed her. Burned the body completely.

So what was she doing alive? Not that she was complaining or anything.

Just as the ropes were coming loose, the door opened and 2 anbu walked in. She quickly pretended to be unconscious still.

"Why didn't you kill her?" One tall anbu wearing a wolf mask asked.

"That was not our orders. This one was "special". The hokage demanded that we keep her alive for questioning." The other answered.

"Too bad the hokage is away for the week. Looks like you're going to have to keep her here until she returns."

"…The cloth from her mouth has been removed." The second anbu noticed.

"Maybe she woke up." The first guessed.

"Then we've got a deceitful little liar on our hands." The anbu walked forward and slapped Sakura across the face.

Sakura let out a little gasp of surprise then glared at him as tears started rolling down her face.

"Aw, isn't that sad? Our poor little traitor can't handle a rude awakening." He sneered.

The hokage demanded her to be captured? She was a traitor? What was going on? Why was this happening to her of all people?

"W-what do you want with me?" Sakura asked, scolding herself for sounding weak to the enemy. Even if these anbu were from her own village, right now they were definitely not allies.

The anbu laughed bitterly.

"Don't try the innocence with us. Anbu are not the kind of people you want to mess around with, but I guess you've gotten messed up with us already you little run away." The first anbu said stepping up to stand beside the other one,

"But I never left Konoha and I'm not a trai-" Sakura started, but the anbu had shoved the cloth back into her mouth forcefully before she could say anything more.

"Let's go before I'm forced to do something I know I'm going to regret." The wolf masked anbu told the other.

"Now now, remember the hokage wants this one alive." The other answered as they left the room and closed the door leaving Sakura on her own to cry quietly. Even if she did break free, she was no match against Konoha's anbu.

She spat out the cloth again, and the rope around her hands came free. Sakura was always skilled at getting out of traps. Once she had untied her legs, she stood and sat in a corner just as the anbu turned off the lights.

Leaving her in a complete and eternal darkness.

.:.To be continued.:.

A/N: Sorry for updating so late. I've been super busy with school and Thanksgiving but here's the next chapter. Completely predictable I know, but hey it's interesting and it will help Sasuke and Sakura's relationship as far as I'm concerned. But why does the Hokage want Sakura? And how is Sasuke supposed to get to her with a bunch of Anbu surrounding her? Just read and review and find out!

Thanks to:

BestSister: lol thanks!

Iluvanime493: no I don't think I'll put itachi in this fic, I just can't write his character that well…sry, but if most people want him in it, I'll put him in. thanks for reviewing!

Princessmoi: ur so totally awesome! Haha don't freak too much now, u might hurt urself jks thanks a bunch

Konohaguardian: aww thank u for saying that it makes me feel happy that people understand how heartbreaking the uchiha tragedy is….

Sweetmaiden: don't worry no rush here just making sure everyone is happy with the updating speed: )

Nhil:P

ZinumS-Black rainfall: thanks for loving it ur so enthusiastic its great!

Sagitarious Devil: Yea switchfoot rox and This is Your Life is one of the really awesome ones too. I keep playing those songs over and over nowadays and coldplay is so amazing too and I cry to almost all of their songs! Maybe I'll use one of them…hmmm…..

The End of Infinity: Omg, u don't know how inspiring u are! Thank you so so much for reviewing my story! Its such a confidence booster! Hope you like this chapter just as much!

Psychedelic aya: ) u rock for reviewing my story thanks!

Left-alone: Yay u reviewed AGAIN! Lol crazy cool!

And thanks to who ever else is reading this story but isn't reviewing!

Mucho luv, Robbin13


	8. Chapter 7: When Things Go Crazy

**Chapter 7: When things go crazy**

Nothing but the sounds of the wind could be heard as Uchiha Sasuke wandered the streets wondering why he was even bothering to make sure his sorry excuse of a teammate was ok.

It had been an hour since he left his house deciding to see what that annoying girl was up to.

He hadn't really gone too far, but then again that was probably because he really wasn't putting all his effort into finding her. What did he care if she was gone? It was what he always wanted. Just to be left alone. But then again, since when did that overly-helpful girl ever stay out until midnight? It wasn't really like her, but he didn't know exactly what she **was** like. He never really carried on a conversation with her without it turning into an argument or a yelling contest.

Maybe she had just gone to a friend's house? He couldn't really blame her if she did and almost cursing himself for thinking it, he probably would have done everything in his power to get away from him too after the way he treated her.

But he didn't care. He liked the way he was, it made it harder for people to get close to him. And the closer people were to him, the more likely it was for them to leave him. And though he'd never admit it, it hurt him, and he hated it. When he was cold and distant, he would be fine. Just as long as he was cold and distant...

He paused for a moment. What was he doing? Out of all the things he hated, she was one of the things he hated the most. So what the hell was he doing trying to find her this late at night? He-didn't-care where she was or what she was doing. It was her life and even though she was invading in his, he didn't want to become the type of person he hated. He was going to leave her alone to do the things she wanted to until this month was over and she would be gone from his life forever. Things would go back to how they were. His team would train together, but they never really were together. He'd ignore both her and Naruto again. Just like the good old days.

Without another thought, he turned and headed back toward his house. It didn't matter where she was or what she was doing. Not to him, anyways.

During the day, when Sasuke walked down the street on which the popular café was located, he could hear the sounds of the hundreds of people going about their lives; he could smell the sweet pastries and he could sense the feeling of excitement.

So naturally, he avoided the street altogether.

But now that it was the middle of the night, he chose to walk down that street which was a short cut to get back to his house so he could pretend nothing ever happened. And when that girl came back, he would pretend like he didn't even notice she had left. On this street, it was deathly quiet, and only a damp scent lingered on the air. He also sensed a sort of foreboding this late at night on this dark and lonely road.

"_Sakura!"_

What was that? It sounded like someone had just said Haruno's name.

"_Sakura!" _

There it was again. Now Sasuke had stopped walking completely. This time it was another person's voice. Both voices seemed extremely familiar, but they were very distant.

He started walking again, getting closer and closer to the sounds of the voices calling out the name of the person he had been thinking about all night.

Finally when he knew he was at the café entrance, the voices were near, and he knew who they belonged to.

Naruto and Kiba.

What were those two doing this late at night calling for Sakura?

His mind buzzing with questions he walked toward the noises they were making on the deserted street.

"Dobe?" Sasuke asked as he stood in front of the yellow aura that he knew must have belonged to Naruto, only this time it wasn't emanating that same annoying obnoxious feeling, it was more anxiety.

"Sasuke l-loser, what are you doing o-out here?" Naruto asked meekly.

That was a change. Since when was Naruto ever nervous, or scared? He was always the type of person to jump around yelling and screaming.

"I was just about to ask you the same, idiot." Sasuke said stoically.

"Hey, c'mon guys! We have other things to worry about right now," Kiba interjected, as Akamaru gave a little bark of approval.

"Tell me what you're doing." Sasuke said more menacingly this time.

"U-um, well you see, we s-saw something this m-morning…" Naruto started.

What was with him? He was sounding more and more like the timid Hinata.

"What?" Sasuke pressed.

"Sakura…She came out of the café just as Kiba and I were walking by, then when we went to catch up with her we saw…A-ANBU…" Naruto continued.

"ANBU? Where were they?"

"They were with Sakura, holding her down and tying her up…We had no idea what we should do. But I knew that if we wanted to stay alive we'd have to hide. So I pulled Naruto and I behind a tree…By the time we looked back around, she was gone…It was stupid of us to have hidden, but anyone who interferes with the ANBU get killed, no matter if someone we knew was in danger." Kiba said.

"That doesn't make sense…," Sasuke started.

"We know, ANBU are supposed to burn their victims right then and there. But there was no, I mean, you know…nothing there that showed she was burned…Either way, they probably wouldn't have tied her up if they were going to kill her." Kiba continued since it looked like Naruto was too frightened to speak.

"…So why are you out here? What can you really expect to do calling around for her at this time of night?" Sasuke muttered.

"We've been looking for her all day. Everywhere, but there was no luck in finding her so we came back here…It's hopeless, the ANBU carried her off so Akamaru can't really smell where she was taken, and all she left behind was some food…I think she was bringing it back to your place." Kiba said slowly.

"A-and we didn't really t-think you would care that s-she was gone…Even i-if we t-told someone else that s-she was gone…I don't think they would have b-believed us. We're in this on our own a-and Sakura is in big danger if we don't find her. It might already b-be too late…" Naruto choked out between sobs. Sakura was someone he cared deeply about and talking about her being in danger was too much…

Sasuke stood still for a moment.

"You're right. I don't care." Sasuke started.

Naruto shook with fury. He clenched and unclenched his fists and tears of anger flowed down his face.

"You bastard!" Naruto yelled as he threw a punch at the stoic Uchiha.

Sasuke easily dodged the attack. He could feel it coming a mile away. Naruto needed to learn how to control his temper. It made him careless.

Sasuke grabbed on to the front of Naruto's shirt lifting him off the ground and pulling him close to his face so Naruto could stare straight into his misty grey eyes.

"Dobe." He growled menacingly. Then he threw Naruto into Kiba who was attempting to break them up. They both went backwards, as Sasuke walked passed them.

"Where the hell are you going?" Naruto yelled after him.

"To find her." Sasuke said as he stopped and turned back towards them.

"What?" both Kiba and Naruto said at once.

"I thought you didn't care, you jerk!" Naruto said.

"I don't, but if something happens to her, I'm not going to be the one held responsible for her death…" He said in a barely audible whisper.

"Wait for us!" They both said as they got up and followed the Uchiha.

He was annoyed that they were following him, but even though he'd rather be alone, he knew that he was no match against the ANBU if they ever found the girl. With them, they still had no chance, but it was more of a chance then if he was alone.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

Sakura woke with a start. She was lying on the filthy floor of the room she had been taken to. Her body ached and she felt exhausted. All night she had been trying to sleep, but to no avail, until about half an hour ago when she must have dosed off.

She stood and walked gingerly passed the chair, to the door. Near the top there was a small window with bars. Through it she could see another window and could tell it was still night. She slumped down against the door.

"Is that little traitor still breathing?" She heard a voice from the other side of the door. She stood again and leaned one ear against wood.

"Yea, I think she fell asleep." Another answered.

"Pity…" The first replied.

"It might be, but think of it this way…If the Hokage returns to find her dead, we fail."

"That might be true, but I'd rather have her dead then keep her locked up in there. That murderous, deceitful traitor deserves to die a horrible death rather than being kept alive." The first said.

"We shouldn't question the Hokage. Yuri Junna is a traitor, but she holds valuable information that we may use to our advantage. Once we have that information, the Hokage will order us to destroy her." The second voice assured the first.

Sakura's mouth dropped open. They had the wrong person! She wasn't this Yuri person…But what could she do? They wouldn't believe her if she tried telling them the truth. They had themselves convinced that she was a traitor.

Sakura sat back down and let the tears flow freely.

'_They have the wrong person; they have to let her go! They have the wrong person…_' She kept thinking over and over again.

After a few minutes, she wiped the tears away. Thinking that there was still a hope, when the Hokage came back she had to know for sure that they had the wrong person. After all Tsunade knew Sakura almost as well as her own mother. Almost as soon as she thought this, she heard the first voice say something again that instantly crushed her hopes.

"I know, but if the Hokage isn't back in a week, we could do the interrogating ourselves. And then there will be nothing left of her when the Hokage returns…"

Sakura felt numb. What if Tsunade didn't return in time? They will kill her and let the real Yuri go free.

As far as Sakura was concerned, she was already dead.

She lay back down on the cold stone floor and cried herself into a fitful sleep.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

"This is no use. We'll never find her." Kiba moaned as he slumped down to the ground. It must have been nearing 2 a.m. and all three of them hadn't stopped.

Naruto was next to give way to the satisfying soft earth as he sat and rested. He knew that they had tried their best to find her, but obviously their best wasn't good enough.

Sasuke leaned against a nearby tree and crossed his arms. This was a pointless waste of time. If the ANBU didn't want to be found, they wouldn't. There was nothing three chuunins could do to even try to stop them.

They stood and sat there for a long time. Naruto wondering what could be happening to Sakura that very minute. Kiba thinking of different ways he and Akamaru had tracked down other people before and Sasuke pondering the whereabouts of the ANBU team.

Finally fed up with waiting, Sasuke started walking again.

"Now what are you doing?" Naruto questioned as he and Kiba caught up with him.

"I'm going to see the Hokage. She might not believe us when we tell her, but she obviously had something to do with the mission." Sasuke answered. It was so obvious he couldn't believe he had wasted all this time searching the village.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

"What do you mean she's out of town?" Naruto yelled.

They had arrived at the Hokage's office not 5 minutes later.

This was ridiculous. The one time Sasuke and the others actually wanted to see the Hokage, she was gone.

And Naruto couldn't help thinking that it was going to cost Sakura's life.

Discouraged, he and Kiba turned to leave. They paused as they noticed Sasuke wasn't following.

The lone boy was standing outside the building. He had his eyes closed and looked very intent on finding something.

"Hey loser, what are you doing?" Naruto questioned.

"Quiet." He answered.

Then without notice, he jumped up to a window. There were no lights on inside and he sat on the ledge. Again he had his eyes closed. He was listening to every sound he could hear. Good, there was no one in the room. He jumped in.

Back outside, Kiba and Naruto both had very puzzled faces. Even Akamaru looked surprised.

Without another word, they both jumped in after them, ignoring the fact that what they were doing (breaking into the Hokage's office) was very illegal indeed.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

As soon as they entered the dark room, they saw Sasuke's figure rummaging through the Hokage's desk.

"Shit." He cursed quietly.

"Would you please tell us what's going on?" Naruto said.

"Shut up dobe or you'll get us in danger along with Sakura." He hissed.

"I see, you were hoping to find the file that has the ANBU's mission on it. Smart. Maybe we'll find out why they took Sakura." Kiba whispered.

"But I don't think it's here…" Sasuke said breathlessly as he moved his hands over piles of paper.

"Keep looking. It could be in the other locked cabinets." Kiba said as he headed toward a locked chest of drawers. He expertly took out a kunai and fiddled around with the lock. It made a dangerously loud clicking noise.

All three of them stood as still as statues. Sasuke listened intently to any noise that might indicate someone was coming. Nothing, there was no threat.

"Keep going. Naruto come here and read some of these files." Sasuke muttered to the blonde shinobi who was looking at the papers in another file cabinet.

"Right…" Naruto said. He quickly put his hands over his mouth for fear that he might have spoken too loud.

"Geez Naruto can't you be a little quieter?" Kiba questioned as he finished with one drawer and went on to another, this time being careful to make less noise.

For what seemed like hours, the three boys continued searching the Hokage's office. Even though Sasuke's couldn't read any of the papers, he got one of the others to read the papers he felt might have been important.

"I FOUND IT!" Naruto yelled. And before he knew what was happening, Kiba and Sasuke had grabbed hold of him and jumped back out of the window, just as two ANBU who were guarding the Hokage's office while she was away, entered the room.

Kiba and Sasuke threw Naruto to the ground as they hid behind the corner to the side of the building underneath the window. Kiba looked up to the window and saw an ANBU mask peering out into the night.

Sasuke grabbed onto both Naruto and Kiba's shirts and pulled them to a park a little way away from the building.

"That was too close." Kiba said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yea I know!" Naruto laughed as he sat down and scratched the back of his head.

"Why the hell are you laughing dobe? You nearly had us killed." Sasuke breathed.

Naruto was silenced. Kiba looked away and Sasuke looked fed up.

"Well, do you have the file with you or not?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"It's right here." Naruto said as he pulled it out and was about to hand it to Sasuke. Kiba shook his head fiercely and stood up and took the paper before Naruto made a big mistake.

"Ah…It seems like they've got the wrong person," Kiba started, "They're not supposed to be after Haruno Sakura, they are supposed to have taken Yuri Junna, a jounin who left Konoha and never came back. It looks like she had done quite a few horrible things…She was supposed to be taken in for questioning then killed immediately. But I guess since the Hokage is out of town, they're gonna have to wait a week or two. Man, you guys should see this picture of Yuri, she looks identical to Sakura, only with black hair! It's no wonder why they got them confused." Kiba finished as he handed the file back to Naruto.

"Wow, you're right!" Naruto said astounded.

"Stop being amazed and get to the part where they are holding her." Sasuke interjected.

"Oh, right!" Naruto responded. Sasuke had no idea why he put up with this idiot. He was one of the other things he detested.

"Says that they're keeping her in an underground holding facility. Haha! This is funny! Looks like its right underneath the building we just left!" Naruto exclaimed. He quickly folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. Then started to run back to the building, when Kiba grabbed on to the collar of his shirt.

"Wait idiot! We need to figure out some sort of plan; we can't just go barging into this underground place that will obviously be swarming with ANBU."

"We don't need a plan! All we gotta do is show them this file and tell them they have the wrong girl!" Naruto said.

"Oh yeah, great idea there. We can't show them this file, they'll know we broke in to the office and took it. We'd be the next ones who need saving!" Kiba said incredulously.

"Well then what are we going to do?" Naruto whined.

He had been so excited that he was actually going to be able to save her…

He just hoped they came up with a plan soon. If the ANBU really thought Sakura was this Yuri girl, she was in more danger than they ever guessed.

And no one was going to help them.

.:.TBC….:.

A/N: Well there you go, no matter what they do, they end up at a dead end. Let's just hope they figure out how to save her. Thanks to everyone for reviewing! Special thanks to Konoha Gaurdian for helping me get out of the writers block we all hate! Lol I'll do shout outs next chapter! Luv, Robbin13


	9. Chapter 8: Unbelievable

**Chapter 8: Unbelievable**

This was supposed to be easy. That was the deal. No one had ever mentioned she'd be held captive for things she didn't do. She was supposed to tutor him; get him to open up. Then they'd continue on like they always did. They would train, and later she would become the best medical-nin Konoha had ever seen since Tsunade.

That was the way it was planned. But now, all that of which was to become her life was slipping away, like the tiny grains of sand falling from a closed hand. As she remembered everyone she knew; friends, family, teachers, strangers, she couldn't help but realize that she wouldn't be the only one letting herself down; she would be letting down others as well.

Her sensei, the Hokage, her parents, and most of all, Uchiha Sasuke.

If she left, who would try to help him? No one in their right mind… He would be reduced to nothing and hate her even more because of it, if it was at all possible.

Sakura brought her knees to her chest as she sat near the door, leaning against the wall. Her head was bowed and her hair hung around her face. She slept for what felt like ages, but she knew it must have only been minutes. The same two ANBU stood outside her door, and the sky was still pitch black.

She didn't cry any more. The only thing left that showed weakness was the dried tear stains. She had come to terms with her fate. She had never thought that at age 15 she would have to accept the fact that she was going to die, but then again who could predict the future?

It weighed down on her like a ton of bricks that she will never be able to push off. She was going to die.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

A shadowy figure approached a tall building in complete silence. It reached the side of the building and checked around for any of the ANBU guards. As the figure had suspected there was no one, they must have been inside.

Kiba turned back towards the direction of which he came and motioned to the other two that it was safe, for the moment.

Now all three of them and a dog crouched down at the side of the building. The initial plan was to sneak in through and open window or unlocked door, but the trick was not to get caught.

"Ok, so we're here. Who wants to be the first to check for a way in?" Kiba asked.

Naruto sat still as a statue, and Sasuke wasn't really paying attention.

They were supposed to make a plan, but all they had come up with was to get as close as possible without getting caught. It was like walking into a lions den after they hadn't eaten for days, covered in raw meat.

So what if they somehow managed to get in? There were probably dozens of highly trained ANBU swarming the corridors; they'd never make it out alive.

That was all that kept going through the blind boy's mind, besides the ongoing battle between whether or not they should be risking their necks for this girl he so despised. Even if it wasn't in her job description to get captured…or to die…

"Naruto?" Kiba was saying as he waved his hand in front of the blonde haired shinobi.

"Ugh, okay fine!" Naruto said as he stood and dusted off his clothes.

Silently, Naruto crept around to the front of the building, keeping as close to the wall as possible. It was dark; all he would have to do was look for a window with the lights turned off and start there. If there were people in the room, the lights would be on; therefore those would be the first rooms to avoid.

The blue eyed boy looked up and saw that most of the lights were off. Now all he had to do was find one they could easily open and sneak in without detection.

Naruto gulped. Then he quickly shook his head. This was no time to be nervous, what kind of Hokage-to-be would back down on a rescue mission? He turned to look at his comrades. Sasuke was deep in thought, while Kiba and Akamaru were motioning him onward.

He tugged on his forehead protector, then concentrating his chakra to the soles of his feet; he climbed up the front of the building. Quietly he stopped beside the closest room with the lights turned out.

He peered inside and saw the coast was clear. Gently, he tested the lock of the window. It swung open without difficulty.

He wondered why the Hokage's building was so unprotected. No guards and no locks… Anyone with half a brain could break in.

Then again, how many people would actually try? There wasn't really any reason to break in, and it wasn't like people were willing to get caught by either the ANBU or the Hokage herself.

It would take and extremely odd bunch of kids like a loud blonde, a boy and his dog and a blind orphan to come up with such a crazy idea. At least since no one had tried, they couldn't really say anyone had failed, could they? Also, it was for Sakura-chan…

With that in mind Naruto motioned to Kiba, who told Sasuke that it was clear to go. All three boys and a dog were about to commit a second crime in one night.

Kiba and Akamaru jumped into the room, followed by Sasuke who could tell by the smell of dog and Kiba's bizarre aura exactly where the opening was located. Naruto followed them both.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

The young kunoichi was startled by the sound of the door unlocking. She scrambled to her feet and stood to face the door as it swung open.

An ANBU walked in holding a tray with a sort of grey slop. He threw it to the floor in front of her.

"Eat," he said.

She just looked at the tray with uncertainty.

The ANBU walked towards her and hit her cheek with the back of his gloved hand. She flew to the side of the room and very shakily lifted herself up onto her knees and coughed up blood.

"Do as you are told." He said, before he exited.

The rays of light from the hall that shone into the room were snuffed out ad he slammed the door shut and locked it.

No way was she going to eat that. But eventually she knew she would have to, to stay alive as long as possible. She lifted her hand to her cheek and could already feel a stinging bruise starting to form. She would stay alive as long as possible even though she knew it was pointless.

There was still a chance, a small little ray of hope. Sasuke would have to realize sooner or later she was gone right?

Even with this thought, she knew that she shouldn't get her hopes up. Even if he did notice, he would never suspect she had been taken by the ANBU. And it wasn't like he would put all his effort into finding her; it wasn't like he was overjoyed that she would be keeping him company. What would he care if he never even heard of her again?

And no one else was going to notice either; not her parent, not Kakashi, not even Naruto. Not until it was too late.

Her only chance of survival was if Tsunade came back on time. And everyone knew that she had never been on time since she started her job as Hokage.

She would be interrogated by the ANBU. Once they found out that she couldn't tell them anything, they would kill her.

Everyone would recognize Yuri Junna's death. Days even weeks later, they would find out that Haruno Sakura had gone missing. They would send a squad of tracker ninja to go looking for her. After a few years, after they found nothing, they would forget about her.

She would be nothing but a faded memory.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

As the three boys and a dog stood in the dark room, they noticed how quiet it was. It was so quiet they could probably hear the drop of a pin. But that also meant that if there was anyone else in the proximity, they would be able to hear the three chuunin too.

Sasuke felt around the room searching for a door. It felt like another office. There were a few pieces of furniture like a desk and a chair. He found the door and pressed his ear up against it, listening for anything.

Again, there was only a deafening silence.

He gently slid the door open; worried that even his breathing was too loud. Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru followed him into the corridor.

There was now one. They knew that Sakura would be in the lowest level of the building, underground. They could only hope that they didn't run into anyone there either. They entered a stairwell at the end of the corridor and started the descent.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

They reached the last platform. Naruto and Kiba stared at the bleak grey door. The one that would lead to Sakura…and the ANBU.

Sasuke pushed past them both muttering a quiet "Idiots," under his breath.

He leaned his ear once again on the door. His increased sense of hearing picked up the voice of a man. He was talking to another.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to make sure everything is fine up there." The man was saying. His footsteps were approaching the door.

The Uchiha spun around and motioned to the other two to climb back up the stairs.

They stopped on the second flight from the platform when they heard the grey door slide open and close. The man had a strong aura. He was definitely an ANBU.

Kiba knew they had no hope of completing this mission if that man found them all there. He had to do something; he had to create a diversion.

There was another door, just across from the grey one that most likely opened to another corridor. Unfortunately he couldn't be sure; the file they carried didn't disclose that information.

He jumped down with Akamaru to stand in front of the ANBU. He smiled and waved at the tracker ninja saying, "Yo, I slept with your MOMMA last night!" Then he turned and opened the unknown door. To his relief it opened to another corridor.

"Hey-!" The ANBU started. Kiba and Akamaru ran down the corridor, using their canine speed, the ANBU close behind them.

Naruto was still shocked at what Kiba had just done. He jumped down to the unknown door, ready to follow to help, when Sasuke jumped in front of him and slid the door shut. He rounded on Naruto.

"He gave us and opportunity. Don't ruin it, idiot." He muttered.

Naruto backed away from the door. Sasuke's eyes had a look of sheer determination and anger. They were brighter in the dark platform then ever.

Sasuke walked past him and stood in front of the grey door.

"There's another one in this hallway." He said quietly.

"I'll be the distraction." Naruto whispered.

Sasuke nodded and hid beside the door, under the stairs.

Naruto opened the grey door. The ANBU looked surprised, and then quickly ran after the annoying nine-tails boy. Naruto turned and opened the door Kiba had disappeared through.

Sasuke felt Naruto's aura get farther and farther away. The coast was clear. He walked through the door way to the ANBU corridor and slid the door closed. He stood and listened. His heart started to beat faster in his chest. At any moment another ANBU could come into the hallway and then it would be game over. All he needed to do was find the room where the pestering girl was being held. He walked down the corridor.

At the very last door Sasuke nearly missed it, but it was there. He could feel her faint pink aura, it was faint, but it was there.

He tried to open the large oak door, but it was locked. He held his hand near the door handle. Blue lightning cackled as he prepared to use Chidori.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

Sakura trembled near the side of the room. It had become so cold, she shivered. She even felt cold inside. She was about to give up all hope, she was about to give in to the darkness, when she heard a loud explosion coming from the door.

Next thing she knew she felt a warm hand grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. She was stunned.

He came for her; she never thought she would be so happy to see him.

Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hurry," he whispered.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, and out of the darkness. He saved her.

He pulled her all the way down the hall and up the stairs and finally outside. He let go of her hand.

Still in a state of shock, she merely looked at him.

"H-how did you know?" she managed to say.

"I didn't, it was Naruto and Kiba." He said stoically.

"Naruto and Kiba? Where are they? Are they with you?"

"No, but we can't stay here." He said.

"Are they going to be okay?" She asked worriedly.

"They'll be fine. Now let's get the hell out of here."

Minutes later they arrived at the Uchiha house.

"Go to your room." Sasuke said forcefully.

"What are you, my mother?" Sakura asked. She couldn't believe he could go from being her savior to the jerk he always was in less then 10 minutes.

"Why are you so annoying?" He asked quietly.

"Why are you the way you are! I've just been through a hellish nightmare. Up until a few minutes ago, I thought I was dead!" She screamed at him.

She stopped and blinked at the boy in front of her. His unseeing eyes scared her for a minute, they looked furious. It was like he was giving her a cold glare…

"What?" she asked, "Why don't you ever say what you're thinking?" she continued.

"You have to stay hidden for a week until the Hokage comes back and we can clarify things." He said, "Go to your room and get some rest." He continued as he turned and reached for the front door.

Sakura was stunned. He had just spoken to her without insulting her or making any rude comments. Maybe he was finally becoming more human than a block of ice.

"Thank you…" she said to his back.

"…"

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"To make sure two losers didn't make a mistake that will cost them their lives." He muttered.

He opened the door and left.

Sakura turned, collapsed onto the living room couch, and passed out. She was too exhausted to make it to her bedroom.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

'_Sakura…'_

'What?'

'_Sakura…'_

'Who is that?'

'SAKURA!'

Sakura's eyes flew open and through the grogginess she could see someone's face only centimeters from her own.

"AHHH! Pervert!" She said as she slapped the figure.

She rubbed her eyes, to find Naruto rubbing the side of his face.

"Sakuraaaaaaaa!" he whined.

"Oh! It's you Naruto! And Kiba too!" she exclaimed as she got up to hug them both.

Sasuke was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and a stoic expression on his face.

"How did you guys get passed the ANBU?" she questioned.

Kiba blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well it's not like we got out of there untouched."

Sakura looked at the three of them. They all had bruises, scrapes, scratches, torn clothes and blood everywhere and Naruto had a large bump on the back of his head.

"So, what happened?" she demanded.

"Well, it all started when Kiba said he slept with the ANBU's mother." Naruto said.

Everyone was silent. Sakura and Naruto tried not to laugh but it was unbelievably hard not to.

Sakura gave way first, giving a happy giggle, the first time she had laughed in a while.

Then the loud Naruto started to break out in laughter. Even Kiba couldn't resist bursting out in laughter as well.

Sasuke gave a little cough, which was his way to suppress his laughter.

Everyone went silent again and turned to look at the blind boy.

No one noticed the near-laugh, but everyone noticed the smallest smile.

"Wha-?" Sakura started.

Sasuke quickly cleared his throat, and turned swiftly in the direction of his room.

Once again there was silence.

"Did he just…" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, he smiled." Sakura whispered in awe.

.:. TBC .:.

A/N: I'm sooo sry I haven't updated in ages, but I had no idea how I was going to write this chapter. Thanks to my best friend I was able to finish it and post it. Tell me what you think in a review, okay?

Thanks to:

Sasukerocks: omg ur name is AWESOME! Lol thanx! XD

Sas: thank you, sry for the long wait!

Princessmoi: hehe I finally updated! Once again, many thanks!

Konoha Gaurdian: lol thanks for the enthusiasm! I love Kiba too he's sooo awesome! Hope u liked this chapter!

IAMSOAP: Oh man ur name is sooo cool! Ty

Left-alone: lol I hate when computers mess up too much it makes me soo frustrated! Thanks for reviewing again!

Sweetmaiden: Yes their hair colours are different, but who says that Yuri couldn't have dyed her hair? the ANBU are very wise… Sakura looks very much like this Yuri girl. Lol here's ur update! XD

GundamWingFanatic90: lol lots more subtle moments in this chappie! Thank you: )

rosesRred16: . Thanks! Keep reviewing!

Sagitarious Devil: Yupp I thought of that, but then again what are the chances that Kakashi would believe them? Thanks for the ideas! Oh and I will most likely use a Coldplay song ! thanks I needed a good song and I think I might use one of theirs…what do you think of the song Fix You? I think its pretty niice. I don't think I'll use that one though I might use the speed of sound or something. Ahh, we shall see.

Anna: Yea I hate when people make him too let's just say not like himself. I've read some stories where he's all mushy, I mean sometimes it's okay but others I wont even bother to finish reading the story. Thanks for reviewing and once again, sorry for the long wait!

-Robbin13


	10. Chapter 9: Emotions, Thoughts, Feelings

**Ch. 9: New Emotions, Thoughts and Feelings**

"Just go for it." Sakura urged herself.

She was standing inside the Uchiha home, facing the front door.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Inner Sakura added.

Sakura lifted her hand to meet the door handle, hesitating.

"But maybe I should just stay…" she spoke aloud.

"What? Why? We've been cooped up in this boring place for two days now! As long as we're careful what's the worst that can happen?" Inner Sakura reasoned.

"The ANBU are probably still looking for me, or rather, that girl. It would be dangerous." Sakura spoke aloud again, this time dropping her hand back down to her side.

"Oh c'mon, just disguise yourself if you're so worried!" Inner Sakura shouted.

This time Sakura didn't say anything she just stood staring at the wood of the door.

An image of Uchiha Sasuke came to her mind. It was of that time, two days ago, when he had let that little emotion slip. She couldn't resist a smile. Maybe her being here was influencing him?

She shook her head. No way, how could she think that…He was still shut up in his bedroom. He hadn't left, not once. Well not that she knew of anyway... He was still his same old self, completely shutting out everyone and the rest of the world. Including her…

She had tried to get him to come out but as she had predicted it had only led to more arguments and frustrated emotions than was absolutely necessary.

"You're worried about him aren't you? Hell yeah!" Inner Sakura shouted as Sakura blushed immensely.

"No, that's not it!" Sakura shouted to the inanimate door in front of her.

"Sure, you might say you hate his guts but I'm you! I know everything!" Inner Sakura pointed out.

"Yea, then tell me exactly what I feel towards him then if you know everything!" Sakura rebutted against her inner self.

"Well, for starters, you think he's handsome!" Inner Sakura shouted.

"What!...Well…maybe…But that doesn't mean I can't hate him!" Sakura continued to speak out loud.

"Yea right!" Inner Sakura yelled.

"Fine I'm leaving! Just to prove I don't give a damn about that selfish jerk!" Sakura practically screamed. So what if Uchiha had told her to stay hidden? So what if ANBU were still looking for her? So what if Tsunade still hadn't come back? She was bored and she needed to get away from this place, even if it was just for a while.

She grabbed a dark jacket, put it on and lifted the hood up over her head, shielding her face from view.

"This is it," She spoke to herself again as she turned the door handle.

"Sakura…" came a voice from behind her. Sakura's heart stopped beating for a second, a look of total embarrassment washing over her shocked expression; she slowly turned to look at the person who had just called her name.

Sasuke stood close by, his head turned in her direction with a stoic expression on his face. Completely speechless, Sakura stood frozen to the spot. How long had he been standing there? She hadn't even noticed he had entered the room…

"I knew you were crazy, but talking to yourself? Even I have to admit that's psychiatrist worthy…" He spoke.

"Uh, I-I was just…" she started, her voice trembling. He had caught her red-handed, what could she say?

Then it dawned on her. He couldn't see what she was doing. As far as he knew she was just standing there. He couldn't see the jacket or her hand on the door handle. She was safe, as long as he didn't piece it together. Lost in thought, she didn't even notice that the Uchiha was walking away from her and back into his room.

All embarrassment and shock gone, anger soon filled her every bone.

"Wait!" She yelled after him as she threw the jacket off and followed him.

She was about to ask why he came out of his room after all this time, when she noticed the bathroom door was slightly ajar.

Sasuke, not listening to Sakura, kept on going and closed his bedroom door behind him.

She was just about to pound on the door, when an idea suddenly struck her full force. An evil grin appeared on the kunoichi's face.

Of course...He was only human after all, and like all humans he needed to use the washroom every so often. He must have come out other times too, but she didn't notice. Cursing herself for not thinking of it earlier, Sakura headed to the bathroom.

Once there, she entered the shower stall fully clothed. Here she would hide and wait for him to come out of his room. Then as he opens the bathroom door, she'll jump out and surprise him; this way he can't run back into his bedroom and shut himself up again.

Normally Sakura wasn't the type to do something like this, but her job was on the line, and she should act towards it as if it were a mission. No way would she fail. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the old saying goes.

Hours went by, and Haruno Sakura was nearing sleep. Waiting and waiting she slumped down to the bottom of the shower stall, completely bored, her eyes slowly fluttering shut.

Then, she heard the sound of his bedroom door opening, and his footsteps coming down the hall. Just as the bathroom door was being opened Sakura jumped up and revealed herself to him.

"Boo!" She yelled…She couldn't help it, really. It was mostly Naruto's fault though. Every day he was becoming a greater influence on her.

Sasuke jumped back in surprise, only now just sensing her blazing aura.

"Haruno, what the hell are you doing in here?" He asked, a hint of anger lacing his words.

Sakura quickly ran behind him and slammed the bathroom door shut. Then she positioned herself to stand in front of the only way out, blocking the Uchiha from leaving.

Sasuke, who had been following her movements with her aura, rounded on her.

"Leave." He said threateningly.

"Only if you promise not to shut yourself in your room anymore." Sakura said.

"It's my room, my house, my life. I can do what I want." Sasuke replied.

"Yes, but it's my job to make sure you stay out of your room, leave your house and live a better life." She stated.

"Like I said, it's my life. And the way I want it, doesn't have you in it." He said coldly.

Sakura stayed silent. It surprised her how much that sentence hurt her. Why did she feel this way? Why didn't she just feel anger? Or hatred like she always did?

Taking a deep breath she said defiantly, "You know what? I don't care. I don't care what you want or what the hell you think is best, because you know what? You're not always right like you think you think you are. This time, you're going to listen to what I have to say."

He approached her aura until his face was mere inches from hers, then he whispered, "Really? And who's going to make me listen?"

Then he pushed her out of they way with such force she nearly fell to the ground. The skin where his hands had touched her seemed to spark with an invisible force of lightning, sending a tingling feeling up and down her spine.

Opening the bathroom door, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Sakura stood there, stunned. What had just happened? What had he done to her? She looked at her bare arm, there were no marks. But if he didn't do anything, what was that? Why wasn't she as angry as she should be?

Inside her, there was a small area that held the answer. When had that place inside her been there? She had only just discovered it… But she was fearful of what she might find there. She didn't want to know why she had never truly stayed angry at him, or why she had just felt some unexplainable force. She was almost certain that this area, this place inside her, would go away with time.

Slowly she opened the bathroom door and walked down the hall. She stopped at the doorway to his bedroom. The door was wide open. No one was inside.

Then she heard voices coming from the front door. Had someone come to see them?

Her heart started pounding harder…What if it was the ANBU? What should she do?

She listened harder to what the voices were saying, and for the moment she forgot all about that small place inside her, and all the new emotions she was feeling.

"We're looking for someone named Yuri Juna. Two of your comrades told us that you had escorted a young girl home the other night. Is there any possibilities we may see her?" A voice spoke. There was silence.

Two comrades? Naruto and Kiba? What had they said? No, it wouldn't- couldn't have been them!

Sakura wondered what was going through Sasuke's mind as he stood listening to man at the door, whom Sakura unmistakably knew was an ANBU. She crept down the stairs slowly, trying not to make a sound, to get a better look. She reached the last step, and then peeked left, past the wall, to the front door. There stood an ANBU, and Sasuke looking straight ahead, his eyes focusing on a point somewhere over the ANBU's shoulder.

"I've never heard of anyone named Yuri Juna before in my life," Sasuke said slowly, convincingly.

The masked ANBU stood, towering over the blind boy, and Sakura couldn't help but notice how vulnerable Uchiha looked. She wanted to interject, say something to back him up, or even come out and tell them about their mistake. But really, would that man listen? He was ANBU after all. And even though she hated to admit it, she was scared; she never wanted to see ANBU as her enemies again…She was too scared…

"Is that so," the ANBU asked in his gruff voice. His masked face turned in the direction of the stairs and Sakura jumped back out of sight, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

She was afraid he might hear it, or her breathing which had been fast and heavy. She quickly turned back up the stairs and ran. She stopped in the doorway to her room. What was she doing? She was running? Hiding? Like a coward? Her fists clenched. She hated people who ran…She turned on her heel and had half a mind going back down those stairs and revealing herself; even though her hands were shaking with fear…She had to do something, anything. She was slowly coming back down the stairs, when she heard the two talking again.

"I told you she's not here. Leave." Sasuke said.

"You know what; I think I'll have a look around just to make sure." The ANBU said, as he took a step into the home.

The emotionless face of the blind Uchiha changed, just for a split second. He looked scared, or was it worry? Sakura couldn't tell, she hadn't been around him long enough to read anything besides anger off of him.

Sakura had enough, she was going to tell this ANBU the truth, and clear things up before the week was over.

She stepped down, into plain view. Sasuke turned in her direction; completely unbelieving he was sensing her there…She had just shown herself.

"Ah, there you are." The ANBU said, as he ran straight at her, doing a few hand signs. Sakura wasn't expecting this, a full attack on a prisoner they needed for information? How did that-?

But before she could even think one more thought, the ANBU was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared and there stood Naruto, laughing.

He was literally on the floor rolling around on the ground, clutching his stomach in laughter.

"Oh man, I got you guys good! You should have seen the look on Sasuke's face when I said I'd be searching the house! And then when you showed yourself Sakura-chan! Oh man priceless!" He bursted out in more laughter.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled. She balled her hand into a fist, and punched Naruto clear to the other side of the room.

"That was not funny!" She screamed at him, "You're such an idiot!"

Sasuke just stood there, listening to the two bickering. How could he have been so…he hated to say it…blind? How come he couldn't sense it was Naruto? How come he couldn't tell?

He was about to storm off, and brood some more in the dark confines of his room when he heard more voices coming from the front door. What was this? An open house?

Sakura paused, just as she was about to give Naruto another black eye, and looked towards the door.

There stood everyone, laughing and talking.

Hinata, Shikamaru, Neji, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, TenTen, and Rock Lee.

They were all there, laughing; Ino spoke up:

"Sorry forehead girl, when Naruto told us about what happened, I couldn't help myself. I sort of planned this…" She said.

"Ahh, Ino-pig, I should've known Naruto wasn't smart enough for something like this on his own…But still…" She said, as she turned back Naruto and completed the punch that had been stalled. "You moron! You weren't supposed to say anything! What if a real ANBU heard you!" she yelled.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, but we really did come here to get you. You know seeing as you've been stuck here for days, we figured you could use some time outside. We're all going to dinner." Naruto said.

"That's great! Hold on just let me go change and I'll be back in a few," She said as she turned to go upstairs.

Everyone who had been laughing and talking went silent, when they heard a loud coughing coming from the Uchiha. They all turned to look at him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Sasuke asked Sakura quietly.

"Um, I don't think so…" She replied.

Sasuke, who was forcing his anger down, calmly said, "The ANBU."

"What about them?" she asked.

Oh god was this girl that stupid? Sasuke asked himself.

"They're looking for you." He said aggravation clear in his voice.

"Hey! Sasuke-teme, you don't have to worry about your girl, she's safe with us! Besides we're going to some remote restaurant," Naruto said.

"Yeah, Sasuke, we won't let her be seen that easily. Who do you take us for?" Shikamaru replied. "Even though this whole ordeal is quite troublesome."

But Sasuke wasn't listening anymore. All thought had vanished to be replaced with anger after the words "your girl". Naruto had gone too far.

"You know what dobe?" Sasuke asked coldly, "I don't really care. Go, leave! I'm sure a bunch of mixed genin and chuunin are really a threat to the ANBU. Besides it would be a lot better around here if the annoying girl disappeared. No loss here." He shrugged then headed up the stairs past Sakura who stood still. Tears of anger brimmed in her eyes, everyone was silent, unmoving. The atmosphere was thick, and it was hard to breathe.

"The annoying girl has a name you know?" She shouted after him. He closed his door behind him, cutting him off once again from the world.

"Uh, we'll wait for you out side Sakura-san." Rock Lee said politely.

Everyone turned to leave save Ino. Naruto would have stayed too had Ino not given him the worst death glare in the world.

Sakura turned up the stairs and stormed into her room, followed by Ino.

"Hey, are you ok forehead girl? What's gotten into you?" Ino looked sincerely worried. Of course Ino had had a crush on Sasuke since the day she laid eyes on him, but she got the hint after years of him rejecting her. She had always thought Sakura had a thing for the Uchiha too, which was the initial cause for the name calling. But recently, she turned her sights on someone closer to her…

"I'm fine. Really I don't know why what he said bothers me so much. But I think I'll get over it." Sakura said as she pulled out a fresh pair of clothes, which Ino quickly picked back up and put back into the drawers.

"You're not going to wear that, you're going to look nicer. Different then you normally do so that you'll be less noticeable. Though I'm not sure what we're going to do about that pink hair of yours, you'll need to hide it." She said as she found black cargo pants and a nice tank top with no logo. Plain and simple, yet nicer than the clothes Sakura had pulled out.

Sakura then pulled out a baseball cap, and tried on everything. When she was done, Ino shook her head.

"No hat." She said simply, and then she pulled the hat off. Sakura's hair wasn't as long as it used to be but it wasn't as short as when she cut it either.

"But the hair?" Sakura asked.

"Do you have any others?" Ino asked, "I don't think baseball caps are appropriate for going out to dinner."

"Um, I think all I have is a bandana, but that's just as bad…"

"Well, it's better than the baseball cap. Put it on."

About ten minutes later, the two girls were about to leave the house when,

"Hold on Ino-pig." Sakura said, as she wore her black and white bandana, leaving a few strands of hair falling in front of her eyes. Ino had insisted that she put on jewelry and was about to make her put make up on too but that's where Sakura drew the line. She only put on a necklace and hoop earrings. No make up.

Sakura turned and knocked on the bedroom door of the Uchiha. She was crazy, yes, but she still had a job to do. Leaving and having fun, socializing on her own was not what she was here to do. She had to bring him too.

"You're not gone yet?" Came a quiet voice from the other side of the door.

"I'm not going to talk to a door. Open up." Sakura called.

He did. He opened the door.

That was fast…Sakura thought.

"What?" He asked.

"Um, we're going now. You ready?"

"I'm not coming." He replied.

"What? Why not?" She asked.

"Because I don't want to,"

"So? Just come. It'll be fun." She replied. Her nerves were getting shorter and shorter by the second. But her inner self was urging her on.

"No." He said.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Ino yelled, "That's it you're both coming whether you like it or not!" She grabbed on to the both of them and dragged them outside.

Sakura was scared. Ino could be scary when she got angry…

"Finally! What the heck were you doing in there? Sleeping?" Naruto yelled.

"Calm down Naruto, they're girls what did you expect?" Shikamaru replied.

"Eh, Sasuke's coming?" Choji questioned.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Sakura growled.

"Nah, but he's not getting any of my food." Choji replied.

No one noticed Sasuke turning and heading back to the house until,

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Sakura called as she grabbed onto his arm. He snatched it away from her.

"Nowhere with them." Sasuke muttered.

"Yes you are." She replied.

"Why? Why do I have to go?" Sasuke asked.

"Because….because…"

"That's what I thought." He turned and was about to disappear into the house again.

"Because whether you like to admit it or not, you want to go." She said.

"What?" He asked as he paused and turned to her, disbelief written on his face.

The rest of their friends started off down the street, walking to the restaurant.

"C'mon let's just go. They're already leaving." Sakura said.

"No thanks."

"Listen, if you do this for me just this one time I'll leave you alone for the rest of the week." Sakura bargained.

That was very intriguing. No Haruno bothering him for the rest of the week?

"Fine," He muttered.

Sakura smiled, she was getting through to him at last.

Half an hour later, after a long walk with many interesting events including Naruto falling flat on his face after tripping over a rock, Choji eating eight bags of potato chips, Tenten nearly killing a squirrel thinking it was "an enemy" and Sakura nearly dying from Rock Lee's attempts to gain her love, they arrived at the restaurant.

Unfortunately for Naruto it was not the Ichiraku, but a place called Sayuri's. They entered, and found themselves in a very regular restaurant; nothing fancy, but just enough for a bunch of teenagers. They all sat around a huge round table, decorated with slightly tacky floral dishware.

All night, everyone had an amazing time. Everyone save Sasuke that is. He hardly said a word. He just listened, pretending not to care. He soon got up and left to the washroom.

"Can I take your order?" A young waitress asked the group of kids not two minutes after Sasuke had left.

"Yea, I'll have the chicken and rice dinner with a side of French fries, a chocolate shake and a piece of cake." Choji ordered.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Hey, wanna leave enough food for the rest of the people at this place?" Shikamaru joked. Choji gave him "the look" and Shikamaru looked away.

Naruto took about half an hour to decide what he wanted and made the waitress very aggravated. While thy were talking Ino leaned in to Sakura,

"Hey, what about Sasuke? He's not here, should we order for him?"

Sakura thought for a moment then nodded. May as well.

"Ok, uh, can we get a cheeseburger or something for our friend? He's just in the washroom; he'll be back in a minute." Ino asked the waitress, who was literally strangling Naruto for being such an idiot. Though Hinata was enjoying watching Naruto struggle…

"No, he doesn't like cheeseburgers; he's more of a stir-fry eater than anything." Sakura interjected not looking away from her own menu.

Everyone turned and looked at her.

Sakura blushed as she noticed everyone's eyes on her.

"What?" she asked.

"Hmm, seems like our little Sakura knows more about the Uchiha than she lets on…" Tenten broke the silence. She continued twirling the fork in her hand as she had been doing since they sat down. She was tempted to pick up the knife, but she didn't want to look like some psycho…

"Aww, Sakura-san why do you care about him? He has no spirit of youth!" Lee whined.

"What!" Sakura asked astonished. What was everyone implying?

"Oh c'mon Sakura it's written all over your face!" Ino chimed in.

"OK what the hell are you guys going on about?" Sakura asked exasperated.

"You've been acting differently since you started the job at the Uchiha house. Is something going on?" Ino asked.

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

"You know…You and him." Tenten pursued.

"Me and him what?" Sakura knew what was coming and hoped someone would pull her away from this awkward situation.

"Love each other." Ino murmured.

"Are you insane!" Sakura yelled, gaining the attention of some of the other customers.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the washroom:

Sasuke stood in front of the mirror in the restaurants bathroom, and anyone who didn't know him would have thought he was looking at his reflection. But there was nothing but black.

He felt around for the sink. He didn't need to go to the bathroom; he just needed to get away. He turned on the tap and let the cold water wash over his hands. He cupped his hands together and gathered some to splash on his face.

He reached around and grabbed some paper towels and dried the clear liquid from his face. He stood there, listening.

He could hear the sounds of people laughing and talking and eating in the dinning rooms.

What was he doing here?

He didn't belong here. No one cared that he was there. He was invisible to them.

Not that it mattered. He preferred solitude remember?

He didn't want to talk about ramen, or food, or how troublesome life is…He didn't want to talk about weapons, or dogs, or destiny, or about youth…He didn't want to talk about how he was or about shopping…He didn't fit in with the rest of them.

It didn't matter. He didn't need them.

But he couldn't ignore the little voice in the back of his head wondering that if it was true, why did he have to keep reassuring himself?

"I should just leave," he said stoically, "No one would notice."

_Sakura would _said the voice in the back of his mind.

He shrugged. Like he cared. He didn't give a damn about that annoying girl.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, back at the table:

"I can see it in your eyes Sakura!" Ino laughed, "It's obvious."

"Yea and you can tell he doesn't mind her being around since he is letting her live there." Tenten said, "Maybe the cold boy is starting to warm up."

"Who knew that the two completely opposite people would end up together?" Ino said louder.

Rock Lee was sulking off in the corner, Naruto was only really paying attention to the food that had just been brought out, Hinata was watching Sakura being put under so much pressure and was praying to god they never did something like that to her especially not around Naruto, Choji was of course eating, Shikamaru was groaning inwardly at how women are so troublesome, Kiba was letting Akamaru eat some of his scraps and Neji had his arms crossed, one eye open watching a certain girl spinning a fork…

Sakura was getting a dangerous look in her eyes.

"Shut up! Both of you! You have no idea do you?" She screamed at the two of them, "I **have **to live with him! You already knew that! The hokage sent me there! And as far as "him and I" go…There was never a "him and I" ok? I hate his guts he's such a cold bastard, not to mention a jerk!"

By now all the attention of every person in the establishment was looking her way.

Including Uchiha.


	11. Chapter 10: Warming Up To Ice

**Chapter 10: Warming Up To Ice**

She had said those words: bastard, jerk, hate. And everyone had heard it.

There was a hushed silence, not just among the friends, but among everyone…Even those who didn't quite understand what was happening.

Sasuke stood right behind Haruno. He was coming back from the washroom when he had heard her little rant about how much she hated him.

His eyes were looking almost directly at her, and he smirked.

"Funny, that's exactly the same way I feel about you," he spoke softly ensuring only she would hear him. He turned and left.

Sakura sighed exasperatedly and quickly stood to chase after him. It was weird, but she felt like she had to apologize, or say something.

But what scared her most was the fact that back in that place inside her, the one she had discovered earlier, she felt horrible. She might have actually meant those words but something inside of her was stopping them from being all of the truth.

"Sasuke, wait," she called after him, as she walked through the door he had just gone through. When they were outside, she ran to catch up to him and she grabbed onto his arm to stop him but he threw it once again back at her. There was that feeling again…Almost like invisible lightning…

"Leave!" He said.

"Can't you just stop and talk?" She asked.

"I don't see any need to talk." He replied.

"What do you mean? After everything that just happened I think there's a lot that needs explaining…" She continued.

They turned onto a deserted street, huge Sakura Tree's lined each side.

The scent of Cherry Blossoms filled Sasuke's nostrils. It was intoxicating. Wasn't it enough that she always smelled that way?

He could hear her still following him.

She was looking around at the beautiful trees and even at a time like this she took the time to acknowledge their beauty.

She hurried up and started walking beside him.

"Would you please just listen to me?"

"Why? You'll just end up messing things up more."

This time she grabbed on to his shoulder and pushed so that his body faced her direction. Still, just by that touch, she felt something than ran shivers up and down her spine…it scared her.

"What the hell's wrong with you? Why can't you just open up?"

"What's wrong with me? Don't you mean what's wrong with you?" Sasuke questioned. He was being so much like the guy she had described back at the restaurant. And he didn't understand, but what she said bothered him. He always knew that she hated him, but when he heard her say it…

"I can't stand to be around you!" She screamed at him. She was losing it. All her attempts at keeping it cool were failing miserably.

"The feeling's mutual." He replied, and then continued on down the road.

She turned to follow. Both were still fuming, not exactly knowing if this was leading to a bigger argument.

About half-way down the road, Sasuke stopped. Sakura, who was following right behind him, keeping her eyes on the ground bumped into him.

"Hey, why don't you-" She started. But he cut her off and put his hand on her mouth. She was shocked, and that sensation overwhelmed her again.

He hurriedly dragged her behind one of the near Cherry Blossom Trees. He had his back against it, and one arm holding her so that she wouldn't make a sound. He needed complete silence to hear what was coming.

Three ANBU were jumping tree to tree down the deserted street, minutes after Sasuke had hidden the two of them. They had stopped momentarily near-by, since one of them thought they had seen something. They decided to split up and search the surrounding area. Sasuke heard one of them approaching the tree they were hiding behind and inched around to the other side. Still making sure Sakura didn't make any noise.

After several desperate minutes, the ANBU left, deciding it must have been some sort of animal. Once Sakura knew they had left, she pulled free of Sasuke's grasp.

"…Thanks…" She muttered. After all that, he still managed to save her from being taken back to the ANBU. Why were things so messed up?

"…Let's just go." He muttered.

They went home, without another word being said.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the house, Sakura sat on the couch while Sasuke was heading back to his room.

"You're going to your room again?" She asked.

"I'm probably too much of a jerk to do much else…" he replied, using her own words to sting her.

"Why do you get like that? Why can't we ever carry on a normal conversation?" She asked exasperated.

"You tell me." He said. He wasn't even facing her direction, and not even bothering to make it look like he was speaking to her.

She looked at the clock, it was still early.

Great, now what? Was it back to boredom? It was like torture. She regretted the day she ever accepted this stupid job. She doubted she would leave the house again until the Hokage came back…

She had an idea. Team 7 hadn't done any training or missions lately, and Sakura knew that it was grating on Uchiha's nerves.

He was just continuing to climb the stairs when she called after him.

"Hey, let's fight." She said challengingly.

Sasuke came back down the stairs to double check that her pink aura was actually there.

"What did you say?"

"You know, spar?" She asked.

"With you? Not interested." He replied.

"Oh what? Are you afraid?" She asked threateningly.

"Maybe of your sanity…" he mumbled.

"Ahh, you chicken!" she teased him. It was kind of fun, to make fun of him in a childish sort of way.

"I'm not a _chicken_," he hesitated before saying the last word. He couldn't believe he had just said that.

Immaturity was reaching its peak.

"Yes you are!"

"…"

"C'mon!" She said, and he could feel her walk past him to the sliding doors and enter the garden. He immediately smelled the scent of wet and heard a clash of thunder. He felt her aura waver.

"Having second thoughts?" He asked, knowingly.

"Never," She said and entered the disastrous weather.

Sasuke, intrigued, followed.

One step outside and they were both drenched, it was pouring.

In Sasuke's situation this was bad and good news. He wouldn't be able to smell or sense her aura. He would have to rely completely on hearing alone to hear the sounds of the rain bounce off of her body.

That was why he didn't sense the kick that knocked him off his feet as Sakura started the fight, taking off the bandana that was of little use now.

Now covered in mud, Sasuke got to his feet, standing entirely still and waiting to hear her next movements.

He heard the beat of the rain falter slightly to the left of him, and aimed a punch in that direction. He felt his knuckles graze her arm and heard a gasp of surprise. How did he know she was there?

She'd have to be more careful. She created a perfect clone of herself to distract his attention while she jumped from a tree and aimed a downward punch that surely would have hit him had he not side-stepped out of the way in the last second.

Her hand had become engulfed in the soggy ground and she struggled to free it. But she was too slow; Sasuke kicked her in the ribs. The impact caused her arm to come free of the mud and flew her a couple of meters away. It caused more pain than she would have expected him to have created and she coughed up blood. Blood has a very strong scent, and even through the down pour Sasuke could smell it on her. He ran towards her scent in break neck speed preparing another punch. He only stopped when his fist collided with wood; she had exchanged her body with a stump of wood. He stood panting from the exertion of the fight.

Waiting.

There was nothing. No movement, no scent and he couldn't sense her. He heard the thunder and knew there must've been lightning. It was dangerous to be out here, sparring, fighting or whatever you wanted to call it.

Where was she? She wasn't beside him, or anywhere near him, he knew that much.

Suddenly out of know where, Sasuke was kicked upwards by the kunoichi who was kneeling right in front of him. She nailed him right in the chin and sent him flying. He senses had deceived him, as the rain had caused them to deteriorate.

He got up, wiping the blood from his lip. This was more than just a little sparing. They were both drawing blood. Maybe it was their inner hate for one another that drove them or maybe it was the rain causing them to mess up. Either way, he would not lose to her, not to a girl.

She was breathing heavily, her ribs still hurt, as she watched him get up. The rain made her clothes heavy, and harder to move. The mud slowed them both down and the lightning was blinding, the thunder deafening. Somehow it excited her.

Sakura was thinking of her next way to attack, when she looked back and saw the boy had disappeared. She looked all around, trying to see through the rain. She didn't see anything until it was too late.

Sasuke appeared in front of her, and punched her stomach so that she flew into a tree. She slumped to the ground, but quickly got back up. She didn't want to be beaten by him; she wanted to prove that she wasn't just some annoying girl.

He rushed at her, and she prepared to block his punch, but at the last minute, she moved away from the tree so that he punched it instead. She now had him backed against the tree. She held him to the tree with one hand, aiming a punch with the other, when he grabbed the arm holding him and made them switch positions. Now he had the upper hand. Only he wasn't doing anything.

He was just holding her there, against the tree. No punches, no kicks, no jutsus.

She was confused why wasn't he doing anything? She was ready to push him off, but he had both her arms pinned to the tree. They were so close…

He just stood there, and all of a sudden, right in the middle of their fighting, he stopped to wonder what she looked like. What hair, what color eyes… Not that it mattered; just it would have been nice to know who your opponent looked like. That's all.

That feeling was coursing through her again, starting from where his hands held her all the way from head to toe. It made her feel weak.

Uchiha Sasuke. Blind boy and cold jerk with absolutely no feelings at all, let go of the annoying girl. Haruno Sakura.

Sakura didn't move, red tinged her cheeks...She was happy he couldn't see.

She just waited…for someone to say something.

"I win," he said.

"What? Hey I'm not done here!" She called to his back as he turned from her.

The thunder boomed, any minute lightning would strike.

"It's pointless to keep fighting. We're not getting anywhere." He said, more to himself than to her.

Lightning did strike; meters away from Sakura. She screamed as she saw the bolt flash down in a matter of seconds burning the ground and the air around it with crackling electricity.

Sasuke felt the heat, heard Sakura's scream. He didn't understand what was happening until minutes later he heard the thunder again.

His heart was pounding hard and fast. What happened? Did she get hit by lightning? What were the chances of that? No it's impossible…His mind was swarming with possibilities…Some with grave results.

"Sakura…" He said.

There was no answer.

"Sakura." He said louder this time.

Still no answer.

"Sakura!" He yelled.

"I'm right here, you don't need to yell." Sakura said nervously, as she walked around the dark pit the lightning had created to stand beside Sasuke. She had never seen anything like that happen before. It was right there, not three meters away…Any closer and she would have been…

"Why didn't you answer me?" Sasuke turned to her. The rain was making it hard for her to hear him.

"What?"

"I said, why didn't you answer me?" He raised his voice. It was odd; he wasn't even looking in the approximate direction of where she was. He was completely wrong on where she was, he was talking to mid air.

"Uchiha?" She asked. What was wrong? What's the big deal about her not answering…?

Wait. He had probably thought something had happened…He couldn't see…

It was starting to make sense…he was… No way, never. He would never be worried about her. He didn't even want her around in the first place.

"Why didn't you answer?" He repeated again, more anger in his voice.

"I couldn't hear you over the rain…What's the big deal anyways?" Sakura asked.

"…" No response.

"Were you worried?" she asked. She knew she shouldn't have pushed it, but he needed to be more open and this might help.

"No…Why would I be worried about something I didn't want in the first place?" He said.

Ok, maybe not.

He turned away and entered the house.

_Something I didn't want anyways…_

Sakura stood under the rain, knowing she shouldn't stay out for much longer. The lightning scared her half to death.

She lifted her face to the sky.

"You know what Sasuke? I didn't want you either…" she said to herself.

That place, inside her…Wasn't getting smaller…it was growing. And she knew what she would find there. She just wasn't sure if she could trust it or not.

She wasn't even sure if she believed it.

**He was a jerk, a bastard. He was cold and emotionless. **

She thought she had hated him.

**He was alone. **

"Thought" being the operative word…

.:. TBC .:.

A/N: Well there you have it. Finally after what seemed like ages, I updated my story. So as a sorry for being so late I've posted two new chapters. I hope you liked them! Plz review and tell me what you think…Anything is welcome: ideas,likes,dislikes…And hopefully the next chapter will be up soon and I'll answer to the reviews:P

-Robbin13 TT


	12. Chapter 11: Dangerous Ground

**Chapter 11: Dangerous Ground **

Sakura stared out the window into the bleak morning. It hadn't stopped raining since last night. She stopped to wonder if it always rained when they argued. It was almost as if the sky was crying for them.

She sighed, only four more days…Then the Hokage would be back and then everything would be okay again…

She watched the people outside rushing to find shelter from the downpour. Some had umbrellas, others didn't.

She turned and looked at the clock. It had been two minutes since the last time she looked. She gave a frustrated cry, why did it have to be so boring? Time almost seemed to be going in reverse…

What could she do? It wasn't like she could get Sasuke out of his room. That would only lead to more arguments.

More fights, more anger, more hate…Why was it always like that with them? They were like fire and ice, the two didn't mix.

If only he didn't go to his room and hide. It angered her just at the thought of it. Not only did he always run when things got out of control and he couldn't hide his emotions, but if she couldn't talk to him or interact with him, how was she going to be able to help him?

He went to his room after the night she got back from the ANBU, and now he was shutting himself up again after he became worried last night. What was wrong with him? Why were emotions a bad thing?

She got up from the couch, and walked over to the stairs.

She looked up at them, knowing that at the top, she would be looking again at his closed door. Anger overwhelmed her. Did he think he could just hide away forever?

She put her hand on the railing, and slowly climbed the stairs.

At the top, she faced his door. She lifted her hand to knock, and faltered.

She already knew what was coming…but she didn't want to argue. She didn't want them to be angry at each other. She just wanted to help.

If she knocked, there would be yelling and anger and hatred. She didn't want that to happen, but what else could she do? No one else was going to come and help her.

No one else was going to help him…

She knocked, lightly.

"Leave me alone." Was the answer.

Wow, that was the first time he had said anything for days.

"Look, it's not like I'm asking you to jump off a bridge! Get over it!" She yelled. Anger…more anger. That place she had discovered was long forgotten... Just at the sound of his voice and his ignorance…Maybe it was gone…

The door flung open. He looked angry, even livid.

"I told you to go away." He seethed.

"And I told you to leave that damned room of yours about 5 billion times!"

"What if I don't? What is an annoying, weak person like you going to do about it?"

"Aren't you being hypocritical? The way I see it, you're the annoyance and the weak one who never faces his own problems because he can't let go of his past!" She shouted.

He pushed her away from him and stormed down the stairs and out the front door.

Why did he always run? Why couldn't he ever face his problems?

Why couldn't he just be _human_?

She was so fed up, so angry, so frustrated. She didn't even notice that when he touched her…there was **nothing**…

She followed him out the door, into the rain.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" She yelled after him.

Sasuke stopped not two meters from her.

"It's none of your business."

"So you're running again?" She shouted.

His fists clenched. "Why the hell do you care?"

"You're always shutting yourself up in your room!" She starts, completely ignoring that last question. She wasn't ready to answer yet…She wasn't even sure if she knew the answer…

"You're always hiding and running away from your problems, COWARD!" she screamed.

Sasuke rounded on her; he could sense her pink aura flaring. No one ever talked to him like that, especially not her.

He pinned her forcefully against the wall of the house.

"I'm not a coward," he whispered menacingly. He was furious, but was also surprised at the feeling of sadness coursing through him.

Sakura was scared to death. They had both gone over the edge.

"Sasuke, I can't breathe, you're hurting me!" She choked out as she struggled against the strong grasp he had on her. His hand was around her neck and his arm against her chest, crushing the air out of her lungs. His unseeing eyes flared with anger.

"Let go!" She yelled then she slapped him hard against his cheek. He let go of her.

Sakura gasped for air. Sasuke was shocked; his cheek was red from the impact.

Sakura backed away and started to cry. She never meant to hit him, it wasn't meant to go this far.

Familiar cold drops of water kept falling from the sky.

"I hate you." She whispered under her breath. The sounds of the rain drowned out her voice. She turned and headed back inside.

"Maybe she's right…maybe you are a coward…" He spat the word as if it were poison to his lips. He reached up and touched his cheek. He gave a loud frustrated cry, and he noticed the rain muffled the sound. He noticed it was calming and helped to relieve the stinging pain in his cheek. Maybe the rain wasn't so bad after all…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura was in her room, looking at herself in the mirror. Maybe she wasn't the right person for this job. What had she done to help him so far? Absolutely nothing. If anything she was making it worse. She wiped her tears away.

Why did she care?

Why did she care so much that he became more open? Why did she care that he stopped running? Why did she need to be sure he was okay?

She hated him. So why should she care?

That place inside her was disappearing there was next-to-nothing left…

Maybe now she'd never know what it meant...

And as she looked at her wet self in the mirror, she noticed how much she had changed. She wore black clothes all the time now, consisting of a black tank top and baggy pants. She felt so much anger and hate…then confusion…

All because of him. He was changing her. But it was supposed to be the other way around. She was supposed to be changing him.

She heard the front door open and she knew that he had returned. She exited her room and went to meet him, before he hid away in his room like always and she wouldn't get another chance for days to talk to him.

He smelled the scent of cherry blossoms waft into the living room.

Neither of them said anything to the other.

What was there to say? What could you say after something like that? I'm sorry? No, Sasuke would never say something like that, and Sakura was tired of saying it.

The silence weighed down on them like the calm after a storm. It pressed down on Sakura's ears, slowly driving her mad. If someone didn't say something soon she would go crazy.

"I know." He said just like that. Those two words broke the silence saving her from her madness.

"Know what?" She questioned, a little worried this conversation might turn out into another disastrous argument.

"That I'm a coward." He stated simply. Then he turned and headed out the back door.

Sakura was taken aback. What did he just say? He just opened up to her; he just told her how he felt.

"I-I didn't mean to say that, I was just angry…" She whispered to the empty room.

Then she turned and followed him outside once again.

He was training, like he used to, and she sat and watched, observing his every movement.

He paused for a moment, and then turned his attention towards the pink aura.

"You're annoying me. Go back inside."

"I'll leave when you do..." Came her reply. Would she say that every time he came out to train?

He knew that no matter what he said she wouldn't leave. Frustrated, he turned back to the targets.

Sakura noticed the way they were speaking to each other. It was as if he was talking to someone he hardly knew, and she replied in the same way. They both were very vague…

She felt a jolt of guilt as she noticed the red mark on his cheek, and she wondered what he must have been thinking at that moment…

He probably hated her, but that was a given. He thought she was annoying…but again he told her that many times already. So what was going through his mind?

She sat there, thinking over the possibilities, but of course there were too many. So she soon gave up and started asking herself what she was going to do now…

How was she going to get him to open up? How was she going to pretend like everything was okay? What was she going to do to change him?

How was she going to change herself?

She was starting to hate the person she was becoming. She used to be the type of person who would help anyone, and then all of a sudden she hated helping others, especially Uchiha.

Why had she let things get this far? Since when was arguments and fights a part of her life? Since when did she hurt people?

She never meant for things to get this far, she could only hope things would get better…over time.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

Coward…Coward…Coward….

That word was being repeated over and over in his mind, following the beat of the weapons that dug into the wood of the target.

It was her voice, piercing his skull, over and over…

He could never remember a time when he had been that angry… She was bringing out the worst in him…

He stopped, and noticed the rain was slowing.

Or was he bringing the worst out in her?

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

A sneeze came from the cold boy who sat at the kitchen table.

"Here." Sakura said, quietly, calmly.

He could feel a sudden burst of warmth coming from the table in front of him. He went to reach his hand out and take the food.

"Don't touch it." She said again, still talking to him as if she was starting over. It was best that way. If she pretended that she never met him yet, she could pretend like she didn't hate him and she could pretend like she still wanted to help him.

"It's hot…" She added, before Sasuke could cut in and start an argument.

Sasuke wondered why she was acting so different from the girl he had had a fierce argument with not 20 minutes ago.

"What is it?" He mumbled. He couldn't tell, he had never smelt anything like it before. He coughed then sneezed again. He didn't want to sound weak, but in his current state, he couldn't help it.

"It's…soup," She said hesitantly. Sasuke didn't miss a beat.

"What kind?" he questioned.

"It's my own recipe, just try it." She said, a little harsher then she meant to.

All that came as a reply was another sneeze.

Idiot, he had caught a cold.

Sasuke reached out for the bowl and brought it closer to him. He picked up the spoon and shoved a mouthful of the hot liquid into his mouth. Sakura waited patiently for a reply of any sort even an 'I don't like it,' would have sufficed but he didn't say anything. He just sat there and ate it until there was nothing left and he pushed away the bowl. He got up from the table and was about to go to bed and rest when Sakura stopped him.

"What? Not even a thank you?" She asked.

She tried, she really did. But it was when he did things like that, you know the whole 'no manners, I hate you, you're annoying' thing, that she got angry.

"Oh yeah I forgot," he started. Sakura waited patiently believing for a moment that he was going to thank her.

"Thanks for nothing," he finished.

Sakura's mouth opened in outrage, she was getting ready to fire more insults at him. Then he sneezed again and started to climb the stairs slowly.

She took a deep breath then sighed. She wasn't going to argue with him anymore. She didn't want to fight. Even though it took her a long time to realize it and even though it took many arguments she knew he was trying to get her upset. But no, she wasn't going to let him make her angry anymore.

She turned back to the kitchen table and removed his bowl then started on cleaning up the mess she had made while preparing the soup.

Sasuke stopped in front of his bedroom door, expecting her to yell at him or follow him up there so they could start arguing again. But all he heard was the sounds of the water running and dishes being washed.

He was almost enticed to go back down there and repeat what he had said just to make sure that she heard him. It wasn't like her, what had changed?

He shrugged, "What do I care?" he asked his empty room.

0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

The curtains blew in the wind, the only sign of movement in Sakura's bedroom. The doors to the balcony were open, a sure sign that Sakura was in her thinking stage while looking out to the afternoon sun that had come out of hiding from behind the rain clouds.

She was thinking about everything that had happened earlier…the fight…

All she could tell herself was it was out of control. They both got out of hand; neither of them should have said or done the things they did.

But they still happened; there was nothing she could do to change it.

She wasn't even sure why she was still dwelling on the past, what's done is done.

But, it was just…so unlike her, and yet what really scared her was the fact that maybe just maybe she really wanted to say those things, maybe she really did want to hit him and maybe he did want to hurt her…

_Way to go Sakura, _she thought, _you're sent here to help the bastard and all you end up doing is start to hate him…_

That was another thing, what was she going to do to get him to open up more if all she did when she was around him was get angry?

More proof that whatever she had felt the other day…whatever that "place" was inside of her…

It was definitely gone…

She was going to try to start over…

That was the best thing to do…

_**You're annoying…**_

_**Leave…**_

_**It is my life; the way I want it doesn't have you in it…**_

_**What do I care…?**_

_**Something I never wanted anyways…**_

Forget everything and start over.

If only she could…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

.:. TBC .:.

A/N: Well there's another one. A lot of anger in this chapter I know…but it gets better/happier! Lol, so yes review and tell me what you think…plz?

Thanks to:

IAMSOAP: Glad u liked it! I thought it was cool too!

Hamgirl: THANK YOU!

GundamWingFanatic90: Yay fluff! Sry there's not much in this one! But there will be tons next chapter…actually not too much yet not too little…just right! Lol

Kanami: Thanks for the kind review:D

Sweetmaiden: Definitely! He's way too harsh! But…who knows? People change right? Lol

rosesRred16: Yay! XD

left-alone: lol that's ok, as long as you reviewed and I know you liked it I'm happy!

Xxx: lol thanks!

Konoha Gaurdian: Omg Thank you! You're so inspirational it makes me so happy to read your reviews:P:P:P

-Luv Robbin13


	13. Chapter 12: Let's Not Forget Ourselves

**Chapter 12: Let's Not Forget Ourselves**

A lone figure sat on the edge of the bed, arms resting on his knees. The moonlight filtered through the dark curtains to land on his bare back. His throat was dry and burning, his glands swollen. His mind was foggy, clouded over from the cold and the empty bottle of extra-strength cold pills which lay open in his rough hands. He wanted to sleep, to rest, but he was too wired from the medication to lay still. He didn't remember how many pills he had taken or how long he had waited between each pill before he took the next; all he knew was that the once full container was now empty.

Groggily, he stood. He felt around his room for the chair where he had thrown his black pants and pulled them on. He stepped towards the door to his room; each step was labored as his mind seemed to take longer to move the different parts of his body. He turned the handle and pushed, dropping the now forgotten empty bottle of pills. He stepped out into the hallway and pushed his damp hair away from his forehead. He had a raging fever which seemed to heat up his whole body. He needed to get to the bathroom and take a cold shower; he needed to bring his temperature down…

With the next step he took, his legs seemed to give way from beneath him, and he stumbled into the wall, using it to hold him up. His mind was blurred, his memory almost gone. It felt like he was falling, drowning. Sounds came to him as if he heard them from underwater. It was almost like someone was talking to him, but he couldn't recognize the voice…His fever made him quake violently.

Suddenly, he felt warm hands against his hot skin pull him away from slouching against the wall. It was like someone threw him a rope so he could right himself, but he was still trapped beneath the glass-like surface of water. He couldn't even tell who was there until he felt a glimmer of pink. It was her…that girl…

She lifted one of his arms and put it around her shoulders and used her other hand to support his other side. He leaned into her, thankful for her support. He noticed she was strong, hopefully strong enough to save him from falling. The calming aroma of cherry blossoms surrounded the girl, and he could hear her talking, making incomprehensible noises. She shook him gently, trying to get him to answer but instead his legs once again gave way. It was like his body was made of paper, easily being blown over by the wind.

He fell into her, and she in turn fell against the wall. His body weight was much heavier than her own, and she ended up being forced down to the floor. There she sat, with Sasuke lying in her lap resting his head on her shoulder. She blushed a brilliant red, and he felt her trying to push him off her. But he was still too heavy, and his skin was red hot. It was worse than a cold by now; she could feel his hot breath against her neck, and without warning she shivered.

He could hear her quiet heart beat faster, and he lifted his head to be level with hers. His mind was completely clouded over; he didn't understand what his body was doing. All he knew was that he felt the overwhelming desire to...

He lifted his hand and slowly slid it up her arm. He continued on to her neck, then he felt the outline of her jaw and finally he pulled closer to her. He heard her call out to him, with what sounded vaguely of his name, but all sound was soon lost. In a split second decision, the space between the two was gone as Sasuke closed in and crushed his lips against hers.

Her eyes grew wide, and her blush deepened. The kiss was harsh and there was no feeling behind it. He was quickly pushed off and he slumped once again against her shoulder. She kept calling his name questioningly, but there came no response.

His breathing had become shallow and his misty eyes were closed. The fever too fierce, he fell unconscious.

Sakura shoved his heavy body off of hers with great effort. His body was burning up more and more with each passing minute. She had to cool down his body temperature. She did a few hand signs and cloned herself into five others who immediately bent down and together they picked the delirious boy up and brought him into the bathroom.

There, the original Sakura ran quickly over to the shower and ran the water. Once her other selves had brought Sasuke and lowered him to the base of the stall, they vanished in puffs of smoke. Sasuke made no reaction to the frigidly cold liquid running over his well-formed body. She entered the shower and kneeled down in order to hold him up, also getting drenched. Her hair and clothes clung to her as she found a cloth and immersed it under the hard stream of water. She rung it out, folded it and placed it on Sasuke's forehead. She held him up as she patted the cloth on his skin which hadn't cooled down as of yet.

She tried soaking the cloth again and repeated the operation ten times over. No matter what she did, she couldn't break the fever. The water was like ice, and her lips were turning blue. She held on to his limp body hoping that with some stroke of luck he'd wake up soon.

All the while, in her mind, she kept repeating the image of him kissing her. She blushed a deep crimson, and shook her head to rid of the picture. He had been delirious due to the fever. That's all…

Sasuke's body trembled, and Sakura looked down and saw that he was waking. She forgot her previous thoughts and concentrated on more pressing matters.

The water poured over them both as the raven haired boy opened his astonishingly misty eyes. He was still warm, though, his temperature had lowered.

He felt warm hands holding him up and he could faintly hear a cold jet stream of water pounding on his body. He tried to sense who it was exactly and where they were. He lifted a hand and felt the tiled wall of the stall…

So he was in the shower…

Who was this with him?

The person spoke, and everything sounded so much clearer suddenly.

"Sasuke?"

It was Sakura.

She reached up and shut off the water.

"Can you sit up?" She asked quietly.

He pushed away her arms and stood up. Almost immediately he lost his balance and she needed to provide support for him once again.

"Don't be so impatient. You're in no shape to walk on your own." She whispered. Silently, she helped him out of the shower and handed him a towel.

"What happened?" He asked. The last thing he remembered was sitting in his room and putting another pill into his mouth, which must have been hours ago.

"I-I'm not sure…You, you were disoriented…About to fall…" Sakura replied as she too picked up a towel. The blush returned and so did the thoughts of that moment…

"…I…Don't remember…Anything…" He replied as he struggled to think clearly.

Sakura stood still as a statue. He couldn't remember… Suddenly a feeling of relief welled up inside her. But, as she watched him, there was another feeling; of disappointment…

She couldn't explain it. She probably wouldn't be able to until she found that place inside her again.

He started to feel drowsy all of a sudden. His mind seemed to spin. The drugs were still taking their effects on him.

Sakura saw his struggle with his body as he tried to stay standing. She walked over and once again pulled his arm over her shoulders and assisted him in walking back to his room.

He didn't want her help. He never asked for it, not once. He could manage on his own. After all, that's what he'd been doing most of his life. Managing on his own…

They had walked half-way down the hall together before he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled his arm away from her and put his left hand against the wall for support as he continued walking.

On his own.

She started to protest but he ignored her and kept going.

He was stubborn; partly from the fear of looking weak. If he one day aspired to become a great ninja and prove his strength, then he wouldn't allow himself to be catered to by a hindrance. A hindrance that for some reason was acting strangely. Her movements were stiff as she followed him down the hall and he sensed her tense aura.

He came upon his bedroom door and paused. Should he ask what was wrong?

He clenched his fists and cursed himself for even letting that thought enter his foggy mind. The strongest ninja wouldn't care about little pests, let alone wonder what was wrong.

Lost in his own thoughts and not being able to see, he didn't even notice the proximity of the "pest".

She was standing, facing his doorway. But instead of looking at him, she was staring past him to the floor. There lay the empty bottle of cold pills.

A frown appeared on her once calm face. Anger welled up inside her. How could she have been so worried…?

"You…" She growled.

His attention was focused back on reality.

"What?" He said. His voice was hoarse as his throat was still parched.

"How could you have done that to yourself?" She barely managed to keep her voice at a minimum, but the accusation and anger were still evident.

"Done what?" He asks, sincerely confused.

"This!" She yelled, as she bent down, picked up the container and shoved it into his hand.

He felt the smooth edges and the label of the bottle. There was silence.

The bottle had been brand new, and now it was empty. He had consumed every last one of them in less than 48 hours. He had overdosed…It could have been lethal.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nearly 48 hours earlier:

"Thanks for nothing," he finished.

Sakura's mouth opened in outrage, she was getting ready to fire more insults at him. Then he sneezed again and started to climb the stairs slowly.

She turned back to the kitchen table and removed his bowl then started on cleaning up the mess she had made while preparing the soup.

Sasuke stopped in front of his bedroom door, expecting her to yell at him or follow him up there so they could start arguing again. But all he heard was the sounds of the water running and dishes being washed.

He was almost enticed to go back down there and repeat what he had said just to make sure that she heard him. It wasn't like her, what had changed?

He shrugged, "What do I care?" he asked his empty room.

More coughs, more sneezing. His head was throbbing, the blood pounding in his ears. He couldn't smell or hear anything.

It felt as though the void was consuming him. He couldn't remember a time when he had ever become this sick.

He entered the still room, carefully feeling where the door ended and where empty space began.

The door closed with a silent click. He stumbled through the quiet, his senses deteriorated.

He growled and clenched his fists. Weakness would not be tolerated.

He found his way to his bed, then felt out his nightstand. The drawer opened, though he couldn't hear the sound it produced. It was odd…relying only on touch…

It was a good thing he had learned how to cope…without his sight.

He groped around inside the drawer, looking for the one thing that could relieve him. He stopped when he felt the smooth outline of the bottle of cold-pills.

Carefully, he opened it, and popped a few pills into his mouth. He swallowed hard, and with great difficulty.

All he could do was sit there and hope that the medication kicked in soon. He didn't want to be vulnerable.

It was bad enough having…her…around.

He wondered if this was some sort of punishment. This girl that he had only known for a short while when they were put on the same team had burst into his life unknowingly.

She was just like all the others.

They all came here to "help" him.

As if there was anything wrong with him…

Couldn't they all just…disappear? Leave him be?

What was so special about him? There were others that could have needed their assistance more then him; and they were the ones that probably wanted the help.

Like he needed the aggravation.

He mumbled to himself and ran a hand through his hair. He tipped the bottle over and put a few more pills in his hands. Those too were soon consumed.

It's all her fault.

That…that…antagonizing pest.

She was always saying things like they were. There was only truth where she was concerned; and kindness and happiness. As long as she wasn't around him.

When she was around him, it was like she was a whole different person. She yelled, and fought and argued.

Not that he noticed…

Again, the white pills found their way to his lips.

With every thought of Sakura, and every thought of his handicap, the drugs seemed to be the only answer. They could bring him back to full health. They could solve all the problems.

He was being an idiot.

If she were there, she would be telling him that exact same thing. He snorted.

Forget her, she's meaningless.

With her don't-take-any-crap attitude and her helpfulness.

And that way she seemed to stick in his mind.

The way she always smelt like cherry blossoms and her emotion-filled aura…

Screw her.

The bottle was half-empty now. He lay on his bed, holding the bottle in one hand and his other hand was on his forehead.

Minutes, hours…all passed by. The bottle…emptying every so often.

He was condemning himself.

It was getting warmer, and he soon became shirtless.

A glistening layer of sweat appeared above his brow.

He was producing a fever. And his head became ever cloudier.

His throat was burning from taking the pills without water.

Instead of getting better, he was getting worse. He sat up, unable to lie still…

Now his mind was going crazy. Every thought that occurred to him made absolutely no sense.

He sat on the edge of the bed, arms resting on his knees. The moonlight filtered through the dark curtains to land on his bare back. His throat was dry and burning, his glands swollen. His mind was foggy, clouded over from the cold and the empty bottle of extra-strength cold pills which lay open in his rough hands…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Present time:

"Well? Are you going to answer me?" She questioned.

He shoved the bottle into her hands.

She looked down at it and continued: "You could have died…"

"If only I were that lucky…" He said.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

"W-what?" She asked, barely believing her ears.

"…No one would have noticed that one more Uchiha was picked off the family tree…" His voice was in a low whisper. "No one would have cared..." He continued, his voice getting louder. "It wouldn't have meant anything to anyone."

"What are you saying? It would have meant something to some people!" She said, trying to talk some sense into him.

"Yeah? Like who?"

"It would have meant something to me!" She shouted, tears blurred her vision. How could anyone think it was better to die?

He just stood there and smirked, shaking his head.

"Why? Because you wouldn't have anyone to fight with or yell at?"

He entered his room, trying his hardest to look like he could handle walking on his own. The door swung shut as he left that last sentence hang in the air around Sakura.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tears fell, gently, softly.

The world seemed to stop, the pendulum of life ceased to swing.

Balance had been obliterated.

Walls of anger and hate, broken down by an impassionate, harsh kiss, soon re-built themselves, surrounding the bleeding heart.

The heart that will never know its own true feelings.

Looking out to the moon, that illuminated the tops of the trees of Konoha, Sakura stood on the tear-splattered stone balcony.

She could not forget.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She looked a mess…

Lying on her bed, fully dressed in the damp clothes from the night before.

Sleeping fitfully.

Her tear-stained cheeks peeked out of the disheveled hair covering her pale face.

There came to her, through her nightmares, a sound of knocking.

Wearily, she opened her eyes. They had lost their sheen and looked dead.

She didn't budge.

What could they want her for?

She couldn't help anyone… She couldn't save anyone…She was useless. She was antagonizing…a pest…something to hate.

It was only apparent after last night.

A piece of trash.

At least, that's what he made her feel like.

The knocking continued and she realized that all the noise was giving her a headache.

She sat up, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

Her clothes were wrinkled and tear stained.

She looked like trash.

She clenched her fists, forcing the tears away.

She pulled her hair up, tying it out of her face and changed her clothing.

The knocking continued.

She wanted them to go away. She didn't want to answer it.

Instead, she walked down the stairs slowly...Heading towards the front door.

She turned the corner and nearly slammed full force into Sasuke.

The knocking had stopped. The people at the door were inside the house now.

Sasuke was holding her back.

Yelling at her not to get in the way.

It was the ANBU.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: o0

Finally updated. Sorry for the long wait. I had to cut it short or else it would have been way too long. Way….way too long…

-Robbin13

Thanks to all my reviewers!


	14. Chapter 13: Everything and Nothing

**Chapter 13: Everything and Nothing**

The knocking had stopped. The people at the door were inside the house now.

Sasuke was holding her back.

Yelling at her not to get in the way.

It was the ANBU.

Her heart stopped beating.

There was no time for questions.

It all happened so fast. The ANBU moved with deadly precision.

There was yelling, and screaming.

And there was blood. A lot of it.

All she remembered was the pain then nothing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'_Get up.'_

'_Do something.'_

'_Move!'_

There was a buzzing noise. It filled her head entirely.

She could taste the blood in her mouth, and smell the scent of something putrid.

Her eyes wouldn't open. All her muscles were numb. She had to get up. She had to do something. Any minute and they'd be dead.

Her head was throbbing.

The buzzing started to fade until she could hear what was happening around her.

She heard herself breathing. It sounded weird and louder than it should be. There was something on her face and a faint beeping in the background.

But there was no shouting, the sound of weapons clashing or jutsus being completed. She couldn't hear Sasuke or the ANBU.

She struggled to open her eyes to see what was going on. Slowly, and with effort, her eyelids fluttered open. The fluorescent lighting stung her eyes and made them water.

There was light. Did that mean she was…?

No, she couldn't be. She blinked furiously until her vision cleared and she could see around the room she was in.

She was lying in a hospital bed, under white linen sheets. She was covered mostly in bandages, from which she noticed must have been put over the putrid smelling medicine.

The medicine was normally used to stop deep wounds from bleeding. There were bandages under her bangs as well that wrapped around her head. The beeping was coming from the heart monitor to the left of her bed.

Her loud breathing was caused by the breathing mask on her face. There were tubes stuck into her wrist.

A medic-nin came in, minutes later, and found her awake. She stopped in the doorway, looked surprised and dropped what she had been carrying. She turned and ran back down the hallway. Most likely to notify someone higher-up.

Seconds later, she returned, but this time with Tsunade.

There had never been a more confusing time in Sakura's life than this very moment.

Tsunade approached Sakura's bed; a small, gentle smile appeared on her lips.

"Welcome back, Sakura…" She whispered.

Sakura attempted to sit up. She had so many questions; she didn't even know where to begin.

That's when she noticed she was still attached to all the monitors. The medic-nin rushed to her side and told her to lie down.

"You're in no shape to move around, Sakura." Tsunade told her, still speaking quietly. There was something different about her.

Sakura looked at her questioningly, and before she knew it, Tsunade was hugging her and…crying.

"I'm so glad y-you're alright…" Tsunade managed to choke out between sobs.

All the while Sakura was becoming more and more confused.

What _happened?_

The medic-nin put a hand on Tsunade's arm and informed the Hokage that she'd have to let Sakura rest. Tsunade nodded, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and they headed for the door.

Sakura tried frantically to tell them somehow that she didn't want to rest. She didn't want Tsunade to leave. She wanted answers. She wanted these stupid tubes off of her. She wanted out of here.

Her mind was screaming for answers, but her body protested. There was no way she had strength enough to move about.

Defeated, she lay back and continued to listen to her breathing and the heart monitor. Her eyes closed, painfully; they blocked out the fluorescent light.

Her breathing became slower, as one's breathing normally did when they slept.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next time her eyes opened, it was dark outside.

There were voices coming from outside the door.

She noticed the breathing mask and the tubes had been removed, though the bandages remained.

"..when do you think she'll wake again…?"

"…I'm not sure…we haven't had any response from her for two days…"

She couldn't recognize who the voices belonged to. They were speaking very low, and she only caught bits and pieces of what they were saying.

"…her body…it's healing then?"

"…yes…her breathing…it's returned to normal…she no longer needs life support…"

"…not many could have…"

The voices were getting farther and farther away until she couldn't hear anymore.

She attempted to sit up. She had to do something. She had to find out what happened.

It was horrible…having to lie in a hospital bed for who knows how long…not knowing if everything was alright…if everyone was…alive.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed her feet on the floor.

Using her arms, she pushed off the bed and tried to stand.

Her muscles seemed not to respond, and she lost balance. She fell into the machines beside her bed, causing a loud crashing sound.

She attempted to move, shaking with the effort.

She put her hand to her head, it still hurt. Her legs felt like jell-o.

How long had she been bed-ridden?

Her muscles hadn't been used for so long that…now…they were practically useless.

She could here footsteps coming down the hall. The door slid open.

A couple medic-nin, Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei entered.

The medic-nin rushed to her side, lifted her up, and sat her back down on the hospital bed.

Immediately her head began to spin.

The medic-nin started to interrogate her, and though there were only two of them, they sounded like ten.

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you bleeding anywhere?"

"Can you remember your name?"

"Are you well enough to talk?"

"Are you breathing ok?"

"Do you need anything?"

"How about some more rest?"

They kept firing questions at her, getting faster and louder. Sakura put a hand to her head as it began to pound.

She was almost certain they would have asked her if she was getting a headache were it not for Tsunade ordering them to leave the room and stop pestering the patient.

Now, alone with the two people she knew would tell her everything she needed to know, Sakura didn't know where to start.

"Uh…" Sakura started. Her voice, like her muscles, were out of use so it sounded rather hoarse.

"I'm sure you're probably bursting with questions, Sakura, but I assure you we will tell you everything you need to know. I think it's best for you to say as little as possible. You're still recovering." Tsunade informed her. Both she and Kakashi took up two chairs and sat beside the kunoichi's bed.

"First of all, I need to know if you can remember what happened before you arrived here…" She asked.

Sakura nodded, and told her she remembered the ANBU coming into the house then being knocked out.

Tsunade then nodded in return, having all her suspicions cleared up.

"It has come to my attention that there has been quite a great misunderstanding," Tsunade began.

"Several days ago, I was coming back from an important mission when I found out that there had been quite a few incidents while I was away. It seemed that during an ANBU mission, three Chuunin broke into my office to not only find the location of one extremely dangerous prisoner, but to rescue her as well. These Chuunin were none other than Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura made to interrupt her, but Kakashi quieted her.

"What surprised me the most," Tsunade continued, "was that these children of mere Chuunin rank succeeded in helping the prisoner escape. That evening, I decided to find how the mission to retrieve the missing prisoner was coming along. Of course, the ANBU, having finally learned the identities of the three Chuunin, had been dispatched to each of the Chuunin's homes. Their orders were to find and destroy the prisoner, but wait until I returned to question the Chuunin. I immediately investigated the mission further, knowing that something was wrong. Why would three Leaf Village Chuunin attempt to save a dangerous prisoner they had probably never met?"

"By the time I had found out that the prisoner was Yuri Juna, the ANBU had already searched the Inuzuka residence and Kiba was on his way to tell Naruto about the ANBU investigations before they found him. It was extremely bad luck that Yuri Juna could almost be your twin sister, but it was even more misfortunate that the ANBU should take up this case while I was away…You see, Yuri Juna has been dead for some time now…"

Sakura sat quietly, listening very carefully to what the Hokage was saying. She was in a state between curiosity and shock.

"I headed straight away for the Uchiha residence, hoping against hope that nothing…irreversible had taken place. The ANBU and I had messed up greatly. I could have never forgiven myself if any of you had died. I had arrived at the house to find blood everywhere, your bodies…and the house a wreck. The ANBU were close to burning you all, if I had come even a second later you'd be dead."

There was silence, for a time, until Kakashi spoke.

"You also owe Naruto a thank you, Sakura. Once Kiba had told him what the ANBU were doing, he raced to Sasuke's as well. Both him and Sasuke fought them off until, as the Hokage said, she found all three of you unconscious."

"Yes…Even though he acted impulsively, in the end, he was the reason you lasted so long. You owe him your life Sakura." Tsunade said.

Sakura, astonished by how things worked out, made a mental note to thank Naruto the next time she saw him.

"Y-you said this was several days ago…" Sakura started. "Does that mean I've…"

"Yes. You've been here for a while…The ANBU did not hold back. Even though I stopped them from killing you, you were all severely wounded. The weapons and jutsus they used against you were intended for criminals and rogue ninja. You were in a coma for five days until you woke up two nights ago. You fell asleep and rested for two days after that. So in all, you've been here for a week."

Sakura looked around the room, absorbing everything she had learned. Everything was just so…complicated.

One whole week…She had lost so much time. All she could think was _the month was almost over. _She could not, at this very moment, decide if that was a good thing or bad.

"The others…N-Naruto and Sasuke…They're alright, aren't they?" She asked both her sensei and the Hokage.

"Naruto's wounds healed fast, as usual, but Sasuke…He took the most damage and still hasn't woken up. Though the medic-nin are sure he'll recover in no time." Tsunade assured her.

"Now, do you have any more questions?" Kakashi asked her.

She shook her head, though she had many more questions, she'd keep them to herself for now.

"Good. Now I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but…get some rest Sakura." Kakashi told her, as both he and the Hokage stood to leave.

Sakura, knowing that she had little choice, nodded and lay back down.

"A medic-nin will come in to check up on you later. I'm sure you'll be able to leave here soon." Tsunade said, as they walked out the door.

Sakura listened to the sound of their retreating footsteps and stared at the white ceiling.

Out of all the times that this had to happen to her, it had to happen while she was trying to do a very important job.

A whole week was wasted, that plus the time she had spent in captivity…

She sighed, and spoke to thin air, "I guess you can't help everyone…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Sakura was informed that she was reasonably better and she could leave the hospital whenever she liked.

On her way out, she was escorted by the Hokage herself and Naruto. He had been released from the hospital a day after the incident and was waiting impatiently to tell Sakura all about it.

They walked down the hospital corridors. Tsunade walked in front of the two, as Naruto constantly babbled on and on about every little technique he used on the ANBU, not even missing the tiniest detail.

Sakura wasn't listening though; she was looking into each and every room they passed. Tsunade noticed this odd behavior and stopped to turn around.

"Sakura?" She asked.

Naruto slammed full force into her and nearly fell down.

"Hey-!" He shouted.

"Hm?" Sakura asked Tsunade as if her mind was elsewhere. The only bandages that remained were the ones that covered her arms.

"Sasuke is on the next floor." The Hokage said; Sakura blushed.

"I-I wasn't …" She started to deny.

"I'll take you to him." Tsunade said as she turned and headed for the stairs to the next level.

Sakura and Naruto followed.

Though she didn't want to admit it, Sakura was worried. And she had every right to be. They had told her that he hadn't woken up yet and no one had said anything since then.

They walked down a long white corridor and stopped at a very interesting hospital room. The room was rather large and circular and from the hallway, they could see inside for there was a long window looking in.

In the center of the room was a large white bed upon which Sasuke lay under white sheets much like Sakura's. He also had a breathing mask and was attached to a heart monitor like Sakura had been. From what they could tell, he had bandages all over his body.

"Stay out here while I go see if it's alright to let you two in," Tsunade whispered to them. There was no apparent reason to keep her voice down, but at the sight of Sasuke it just felt appropriate.

They nodded and watched her enter the room and speak to the medic-nin who was checking all the machines and monitors.

They saw her indicate the two standing outside the window and the medic-nin stop to think before nodding her approval.

Tsunade made her way back to the door and waved them in.

Inside the room, Sakura noticed more medic-nin were standing by. She knew this sort of behavior was odd and it could only mean that Sasuke's condition was worse than they were letting on.

Both she and Naruto walked closer to the bed, and before Naruto could walk right up to the bed along with Sakura, Tsunade put her hand on his shoulder. She wanted to let Sakura have room.

Sakura looked down on the boy she had come to hate and her eyes betrayed no emotion. How was she supposed to feel?

How was anyone supposed to feel after everything that happened?

Of course she was worried, but that was only human. Anyone would worry about the well-being of others when they look upon someone in Sasuke's condition.

Had she looked as pathetic as he did now?

He seemed so defenseless, lying there like that. She was so used to him walking around with his hands stuffed in his pockets with his sunglasses on and arguing with her that now it was like she was looking at an entirely different person.

Was this going to be one of those earth-shattering experiences that change the way you look at life?

Or was everything going to resume it's natural pace as if nothing had happened once he recovered?

He was going to recover, wasn't he?

She looked up and turned towards the medic-nin closest to her.

"How is he doing?" She asked like a close friend would ask a mother about her injured child's condition.

"His condition is stable, but we're not sure how long it will take to heal him." The medic-nin replied, almost as if she had memorized that line for everyone who asked her that question.

Sakura nodded as if she knew that would be the reply.

"And you're doing everything you can, right?" Sakura asked as her gaze fell back upon Sasuke's face which was covered by his onyx hair and breathing mask.

"Of course."

"That's good." Sakura continued and she realized they were talking about Sasuke's life as anyone would discuss the weather on a nice day.

It was sad really.

Emotions swam inside of Sakura and she couldn't decide which one should be surfacing at that moment in time.

Maybe if she…

She reached out her hand and touched his gently. It was stone cold. She carefully held his hand in hers and squeezed slightly as if trying to put a little of her energy into him.

She closed her eyes, fearing that she'd cry. Naruto approached her, breaking out of Tsunade's grasp. He stood by her and placed a hand on her shoulder in an understanding way. That was Naruto for you, just like a brother.

All eyes in the room were on them now and they could all feel what it must have been like for two team members to watch the third member of their team suffer.

Suddenly, the faint beeping that had been going off at a constant pace stopped and all they could hear was a constant beep indicating Sasuke's heart had stopped.

Everything was happening so fast again.

The medic-nin jumped into action, some of them rushing to the machines and to Sasuke, while some others told Tsunade to take Naruto and Sakura outside.

Both of them had entered a sort of daze, both realizing that Sasuke was dying.

As Tsunade pulled them away from the blind boy's bed, Sakura watched helplessly as his hand slipped from hers.

This couldn't be happening.

Before either of them knew it, Naruto and Sakura were outside in the hall, watching through the window at the medic-nin who were working to get Sasuke's heart beating again.

Naruto snapped out of it first and started yelling, asking Tsunade what was happening and why everyone was suddenly rushing around and shouting orders inside the circular room though he already knew the answer. He just didn't want to believe what was happening. After all, hope is the denial for reality and that was all they could do at that moment, according to Tsunade. She told them to just stand there and hope that everything turned out ok.

And Sakura wanted to scream at her for making her feel so helpless, but Tsunade had already gone back into the room to help.

Naruto was still panicking and wanted to go back into the room and help too even if he'd just be in the way. How could he just stand back and watch his teammate die?

Sakura just stood there, blocking out the noise around her and focusing on the dark haired boy. It couldn't be happening.

This couldn't be happening.

That sentence repeated itself over and over.

This was a dream, it had to be. It was one of those nightmares you get where you wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat and shivering.

But what would happen if…?

No she wouldn't even think about that right now. He would not die. They would save him. She was sure of it.

But after minutes of watching the medic-nin try to revive him without success, Sakura's certainty was slipping.

Slowly, the medic-nin began to show signs giving up.

And after a while, even Tsunade stopped operating.

By now, Naruto was shaking with sobs and Sakura was banging on the window screaming at them to keep trying, that there was still hope.

She could hardly see one of the medic-nin shake her head indicating they had lost him through her tears.

Sasuke had died.

And there was nothing Sakura or anyone could do to change that.

It seemed all too surreal and unfair. Why was it only Sasuke who had died?

"No…no…t-this isn't right!" Sakura was choking out.

Naruto yelled and slammed his fist into the opposite wall creating a large hole.

"Why was it him!" He was exclaiming. "It should have been me…"

Tsunade came out and looked at the two of them, eyes filled with sorrow.

"I'm so…so sorry." She said to them. But it didn't quite seem to cut it.

The door to the room opened and some medic-nin were leaving. As they walked out, they heard them saying: "Time of death: 2:51 p.m."

That really made it final. There was nothing to say they had made a mistake and he really was alive now…There was no way of getting him back…

"We tried the best we could but his body just gave up the will to live." Tsunade whispered trying to calm them down. Apparently, it had the opposite effect.

"NO!" Screamed Sakura as she ran and pushed Tsunade out of the way and into the room.

Naruto and Tsunade ran after her, but stopped in the doorway.

The medic-nin who remained in the room had given up trying to hold the sobbing girl back.

She was pounding furiously on Sasuke's bed yelling at him as if he could hear her and wake up.

Feeling weak and helpless, she calmed and slumped to the floor.

Naruto's tears flowed more freely at the sight before him.

Sakura was still shaking and gasping for breath as she cried her heart out.

It wasn't just sadness that was making her cry, it was also anger.

She shakily stood up and faced Tsunade.

"I-I never meant to tell him I hated him!" She blurted out.

Naruto looked up and looked just as shocked as Tsunade did at Sakura's confession.

"W-what are you talking about Sakura?" Tsunade was asking.

The medic-nin left, knowing that it was not their place to hear these people's tragedies.

Sakura's eyes were jaded. She was remembering something from long ago.

"_I'm going to be your new tutor." She stated bluntly. There was no point delaying the inevitable. As she expected, he didn't show any emotions. _

"_Get out." He said more viciously than Sakura had expected. _

"He never wanted me there in the first place!" She was shouting now, letting all her anger and frustration out.

After all, it was her fault.

"Sakura…" Naruto whispered, still understanding the pain she must have been going through.

"_What the hell just happened?" She asked. "Why did he just-just storm off like that! It was just a suggestion!" She continued. She looked ready to cry with the frustration surging through her. _

"_I tried to tell you." Naruto said defensively. _

"_Tell me what!" She screamed._

"_He was on the way to the Cherry Blossom Festival when the accident happened. It's probably one of the worst places in the world for him. I'm sorry; I really did try to tell you." With that, Naruto walked back down the stairs and reached the front door. _

She was remembering everything now…All the mistakes she had made…

"I-I was always arguing with him!" She was still crying as she spoke.

"It's alright Sakura…" Tsunade tried to calm her down again.

"No! No, it's not! Don't you get it? It-it was because of me! All because o-of me! If he had never known me he wouldn't be d-" She couldn't say it. Never.

"_Just leave." He finally said. _

"_What? No! I won't." She started to shake with frustration. _

"_Why not?" he turned to her direction. His sunglasses were off, and his stunningly beautiful eyes made her heart skip a beat. _

"_Because, I want to help you." She said quietly. This was stupid. Why was she crying? _

"I-I had wanted to h-help him! That's all…I…just wanted to…"

More memories…

"_What the hell are you doing out here? Go inside." He growls._

"_I'm not leaving until you do." She says. She couldn't help but smile. She knew that no matter what he would be a jerk. She should have known better than to think that he wasn't going to say something rude like that. _

They kept re-playing in her mind like someone had rewound the past month and was playing it over again.

_Sakura trembled near the side of the room. It had become so cold, she shivered. She even felt cold inside. She was about to give up all hope, she was about to give in to the darkness, when she heard a loud explosion coming from the door. _

_Next thing she knew she felt a warm hand grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. She was stunned._

_He came for her; she never thought she would be so happy to see him. _

_Uchiha Sasuke. _

"_Hurry," he whispered. _

_He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, and out of the darkness. He saved her. _

_He pulled her all the way down the hall and up the stairs and finally outside. He let go of her hand. _

"He was the one who came and s-saved me…He risked his life..." She shivered violently as the thought that he really was dead finally started to sink in.

"H-he didn't deserve it!" She cried out…

Naruto and Tsunade could only just stand there and cry with her…There were no comforting words to say at a time like this…

"He w-was just alone! That's all…All he needed was…He wasn't a jerk or a bastard…he was worried and...And I sh-shouldn't have been the way I was…" Sakura was drowning in despair.

"_Why didn't you answer?" He repeated again, more anger in his voice. _

"_I couldn't hear you over the rain…What's the big deal anyways?" Sakura asked. _

"…" _No response. _

"_Were you worried?" she asked. She knew she shouldn't have pushed it, but he needed to be more open and this might help. _

"_No…Why would I be worried about something I didn't want in the first place?" He said._

"I…I thought I hated him…But h-how could I when…" She continued

_The silence weighed down on them like the calm after a storm. It pressed down on Sakura's ears, slowly driving her mad. If someone didn't say something soon she would go crazy. _

"_I know." He said just like that. Those two words broke the silence saving her from her madness. _

"_Know what?" She questioned, a little worried this conversation might turn out into another disastrous argument. _

"_That I'm a coward." He stated simply. Then he turned and headed out the back door. _

"Sakura, it's too late. There's no point in-" Naruto tried to stop Sakura from breaking down completely.

"I loved him!" She shouted as if her life depended on it. And again she fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself to try and stop the shaking. The tears marked the floor, as Naruto, stunned, came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

Tsunade's eyes were wide.

"Sakura…" She whispered.

_He lifted his hand and slowly slid it up her arm. He continued on to her neck, then he felt the outline of her jaw and finally he pulled closer to her. He heard her call out to him, with what sounded vaguely of his name, but all sound was soon lost. In a split second decision, the space between the two was gone as Sasuke closed in and crushed his lips against hers. _

"_I loved him…" _she whispered to herself.

She had always known. Despite everything that happened…

But even though she had finally found that place inside her with those emotions she thought would scare her…it was too late…

"_A-and he'll never know…" _she added.

Her heart clenched painfully and she realized it hurt more than any physical pain.

In the background, something had changed. They had all been too upset to notice…but there was a faint beeping.

A heart monitor.

The medic-nin, who had stepped out to give them some time, ran back inside in a blink of an eye.

Naruto and Sakura seemed to be frozen in time as they realized something impossible was happening.

Sasuke's heart was beating.

It was 3:04 p.m. It had been 13 minutes…

Someone said: "I-it's impossible!"

Another said: "How can this be right?"

And then a familiar voice spoke:

"Sakura?"

Sasuke was sitting up; he had removed his breathing mask.

Naruto and Sakura stood slowly and faced their teammate.

"S-Sasuke…h-how are you…?"

"You're making too much noise, leave." He said to her as he focused on her aura.

And then, the most unexpected thing happened.

Sakura laughed.

She laughed through her tears and said:

"I'll leave when you do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

.:. TBC .:.

A/N: I know it's been months since I last updated and I'm soooo incredibly sorry! And I know that this chapter was extremely dramatic…maybe a little too much? But I'm so happy because Sakura FINALLY realized she always had feelings for him! (I'll go deeper into her thoughts on that next chapter) AND considering she just blurted it out like that…I don't know somehow I pictured her "realization" differently. But I guess after something as traumatic of having Sasuke die is enough to make anyone lose their senses…I wonder when she'll tell him that he kissed her?...and did he hear her say she loved him? ….hmmm….Well then you'll just have to read and find out n'est-ce pas? Lol. I will try extremely harder to write faster and update sooner because I feel horrible for letting a story hang like I did last chapter... Well I hope this made up for it…Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You're all amazing!

**stargazer92**

**Little Sauke Kun lover**

**DarkItachi22**

**Merlina Daidouji**

**Minni: (A/N: Everyone, this is my best friend who helps with my ideas. Best friend, meet everyone.)**

**IAMSOAP**

**Sabishi Tomo**

**ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAt...**

**dark dreamerx**

**kawaiinekochan**

**Joy-girl**

**animeloverj**

**AngstyJounin1572**

**Sasuki**

**princessmoi**

**biawutnow**

**Akkirako Chikuro**

**HighEternity**

**Idril Faelivrin**

**sweetmaiden**

**Daieki Sohma**

**left-alone**

**hamgirl**

**rosesRred16**

Well, then … just click the little review button again and tell me how u liked and hated it!

–Robbin13


	15. Chapter 14: Within Temptation

**Chapter 14: Within Temptation**

"I quit."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"No, I mean it. I quit."

"Sakura…"

"…"

"Sakura!"

"I don't see why I should be required to stay. Hasn't the village decided that he's proven himself to be a more than capable shinobi?"

"Yes, but it's more than that. His behavior has not changed…He's still as cold as ice."

"What does that have to do with anything? He saved both me and Naruto from an almost certain death not to mention the fact that he stopped Konoha from realizing it had destroyed its own ninja! In a way, he did save the town itself. They can't possibly still be considering his demotion…can they?"

"They can and they will…Now that he's accomplished many great feats and proven his strength countless times even without the Sharingan, the village feels he may become a great threat."

"Threat? Sasuke? No, never. He would never turn on this village! I can't believe they'd even consider something this outrageous. First they discriminated him, threatening to remove his ranking and now they fear him which will lead to either his imprisonment or exile. There's just no way he'd turn on this village…"

"How can you be so sure?"

Sunlight splashed through the window and across the desk behind which Tsunade sat, hands intertwined. Sakura looked down to avoid the Hokage's piercing gaze. She toyed with the edge of her white summer dress that came just above her knees. The sleeveless, cotton dress suddenly became the most interesting item in the room as she struggled to focus on anything but Tsunade.

Tsunade took Sakura's silence as uncertainty and was about to further her comment when Sakura decided to speak up.

"How can _you _not trust him? I thought the Hokage was supposed to regard the whole village as his or her own family." Sakura's voice quivered slightly knowing full well that she was speaking out of hand. No matter how close one was to the Hokage they should never undermine their authority.

"I trust everyone in this village but if it was just my trust towards him that was the problem it would be so much simpler. No, it is not I who is questioning Sasuke's intentions…It is the village who is debating what the future holds for him. They would not believe he was any kind of threat if it were not for what happened 14 years ago."

Here, Tsunade froze. If Sakura had not spent as much time as she had with the Hokage she would not have noticed, for the Hokage hid her mistakes well, but the tension in her muscles became suddenly apparent as her body stiffened.

"…What?" Sakura asked recognizing instantly the moment when one says something they should not have.

"It does not concern you. The only thing you need to know right now is that you have a job to take care of. Now if you don't mind-"

"No, wait. How does it not concern me if it is the reason to why the village is behaving with such hostility?" Sakura stepped forward expectantly staring at Tsunade with wide interrogating eyes.

Tsunade gave a great sigh.

"Your intelligence is one of your most dangerous weapons Sakura. There would never be a situation where you wouldn't analyze every aspect but sometimes it's best to leave things of the past exactly as they are…just memories."

"Not if the past is starting to influence the future. If whatever happened 14 years ago is the catalyst for why I suddenly had to spend weeks with _Uchiha Sasuke_ then I think I deserve the right to know." Sakura spoke of her time with Sasuke as one would speak of a vacation gone horribly wrong with the only difference being that she had gone there knowing it was going to be a difficult task.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and formed a small knowing smile.

"What's this all of a sudden? I thought you were infatuated with him."

Sakura flushed, her face suddenly matching the color of her hair.

"Th-that was…it was a…caught in the moment... I-I was just…never mind…" Sakura averted her eyes once again. Somehow Tsunade kept re-directing the conversation in her direction…

"Wait, this is classic! I know what you're doing; you're changing the subject every time I refer back to what you said!" Sakura burst out, angry that she had gotten flustered without realizing what Tsunade was doing sooner.

"Please, Sakura you watch too many movies…I was just wondering why you want an explanation for why you were forced to find you had feelings for the one person you never thought possible. Hm, it could possibly have been destiny. Maybe you should talk with that Hyuuga prodigy." Tsunade had a gleam in her eye, the kind of gleam she got whenever she was joking around. Sakura would have thought she had lost the habit with her sudden leadership and knowledge that the entire village rested on her shoulders… Apparently not.

"I'm not taking the bait this time. We're not talking about my feel- I mean me; we're talking about what's provoking the village into believing Sasuke will be some sort of threat to them. Tell me what happened 14 years ago." Sakura stated. She could not recall ever being told that something had happened around the time she was born.

Tsunade's demeanor turned instantly grave. The gleam from her eyes vanished replaced by an ancient sorrow which almost made Sakura wish she had just left the subject alone.

"Before I tell you Sakura, because I know you'll do anything to find out, I need you to understand something first." Tsunade began.

Sakura nodded, waiting with baited breath. Whatever she was about to learn was clearly terribly horrible.

"What happened all those years ago has been kept secret amongst those who were old enough to understand what had taken place and had witnessed the calamity. None who were too young or were born after the incident were ever told of the history behind it. That is why you have no inclination whatsoever." Tsunade said in a barely audible whisper. Her voice betrayed no emotion other than a great regret.

"But why, and how? How could the whole town be oblivious to this calamity?"

"It was not easy for the people whom it had the greatest impact on…But for the rest of the village the horror alone was enough to keep them from betraying anything. It is very similar to the way the Kyuubi was hidden from Naruto. If an event, a moment in time is too devastating it is a difficult yet necessary task to shield others from it."

Tsunade paused for a moment then said, "Are you sure you still wish to learn of this tragedy?"

Sakura stood silent for a moment, debating. If this secret had not been revealed as of yet, unlike that of the Kyuubi then it had to have been even more devastating. That old adage "curiosity killed the cat" drifted into her mind. But this was Sakura, and curiosity always got the better of her.

"I'm sure." _Famous last words, _she thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Congratulations, it's a boy!" The medic-nin exclaimed as she handed the bundle of blankets over to the child's mother.

Uchiha Mikoto held on to her first born child lovingly. Her pale face shimmered with sweat and revealed an adoration that hid her exhaustion. The labor had been difficult, but as she looked upon her child she knew at that moment that she would have gone through labor ten more excruciating times to experience the same joy that overwhelmed her being.

"Your child isn't crying," remarked the medic-nin, trying her hardest not to sound worried. Many parents found it a bad omen to give birth to a child who would not cry. Instead she smiled and continued, "You are very lucky parents."

Uchiha Fugaku stepped toward the hospital bed and nodded approvingly.

"Only minutes into the world and my son already shows discipline." He extended his arms and took the child from its mother, letting Mikoto rest.

Looking down at his child with the most compassion he had ever shown in his life, he said "We shall call you Uchiha Itachi."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Here Tsunade paused, letting Sakura absorb her introduction.

"…Itachi?" Sakura questioned after a moment of thought.

"Yes. Uchiha Sasuke was not the first born son of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha." Tsunade answered solemnly.

"Sasuke had a brother? Does he know? He's never mentioned him to me…"

"Sasuke has no inclination whatsoever about his brother's existence." Tsunade replied. "Uchiha Itachi was born nearly twenty seven years ago when his parents were both of a young age. Haven't you ever wondered why Sasuke's parents were so old when they conceived him?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, it's not uncommon for people in their thirties and forties to be having children…I didn't think too much of it…" Sakura defended.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sakura asked, "Where is Itachi now?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Itachi! Itachi come here!" Called Mikoto from the kitchen.

Uchiha Itachi was lying on his back staring up at the blue sky as a white butterfly fluttered above him. Today was a Saturday, but not just any Saturday. This day marked Itachi's sixth birthday.

He sat up and looked over to his house. His mother was looking out at him through the kitchen window.

"Hurry up Itachi, your father's waiting."

Getting to his feet, Itachi brushed the dirt from his clothes before running to the house. He opened the back door and stepped inside.

"Ah, there you are Itachi." Said his father, now entering the kitchen from the hallway. "The others are growing anxious for your arrival."

Every birthday that Itachi celebrated always consisted of a family gathering. He was the son of the clan leader after all.

Itachi followed his father back to the hallway. They walked in silence until they reached a door leading to another courtyard. Before leaving the confines of the house, his father stopped and turned to him.

"Today is a big day," he said firmly. "Today marks the day that you have come of age to attend the ninja academy. Everyone expects nothing less than greatness from you. You must not let us down." Without waiting for a response from his son, Fugaku opened the door to the courtyard.

The courtyard was a big, bright place perfect for family gatherings. The bright green grass was cut perfectly, the roses were trimmed to perfection and the other flowers accented each other with a magnificent grace. Tables were laid about the area, piled high with food his mother had been preparing all day. Itachi never much liked this courtyard, everything was too fake. Nature was not meant to look so perfect, that's why he much rather spend most of his time in the unkempt area behind the kitchen.

He surveyed the people who either sat or stood around the tables. Almost every pair of obsidian eyes were focused upon him.

He walked straight ahead, keeping his eyes focused on the chair at the head of one of the tables that was destined for him. As he passed, here and there people stood in respect of the clan leader's son. There were no adults seated at this table. All of Itachi's cousins and distant relatives who were either his age or older sat there.

Once seated, the silence was broken as everyone sat back down and resumed their conversations, eating the intricate delicacies prepared for them. Itachi started on his own food and muttered a quick 'thank you' to everyone who came up to him and wished him a happy birthday. Even though he was only six, he had to be more mature than any normal boy his age would have been; therefore he did not partake in any of the conversations amongst the children at his table. Instead, after eating a few bites of a pork bun, he left the table and moved himself to a more remote location to be away from the celebration.

It was his own birthday and he didn't want to be any part of it. No one noticed that he had left, despite the fact that he was the reason for why they were all there. He positioned himself beside a rose bush, leaning against the wood of his house, invisible to those around him.

He stayed there for a while, until he heard approaching footsteps. He tensed, hoping it wasn't someone inviting him back to the festivities.

He was relieved to see that it was only a group of some of his uncles and aunts who were walking around the courtyard with his father. They stopped before the rose bush, not noticing the young Uchiha. He could barely see all of them over the roses, but he could hear them.

They were talking about their sons and daughters, all of whom Itachi had left back at his table.

"And how is your son doing?" One of his uncles asked another.

"He's progressing just as quickly as my nieces and nephews seem to be. I've never seen a generation acquire their Sharingan capabilities as quickly as this…They are all only around the age of six and seven. It's quite remarkable."

"What about your son, Fugaku?" One of his aunts asked his father.

"….He's progressing quite quickly as well…." His father answered. Itachi wondered why his father had lied. Itachi did not have the Sharingan as of yet and he could barely perform the fire ball jutsu accurately.

"So he can also use the Sharingan?" Itachi's aunt pressed.

There was silence. Itachi stirred uncomfortably, hardly daring to breathe.

"...No…" Fugaku finally replied. The reaction was immediate. There were hushed whispers all around. The sound of the party seemed to fade from existence as Itachi waited for what his father would say next.

"He is improving but he has not acquired our blood line trait." Itachi could hear the disappointment in his father's voice despite his obvious attempts to sound formal.

"Well, I suppose there's always going to be a black sheep among the young ones. Too bad it had to be your son Fugaku." A voice said. Itachi could not recognize the voice but he was certain it was one of the elder Uchihas.

The air around the rose bush became tense as Itachi sensed his father's emotions changing from disappointment to anger.

"Black sheep? No son of mine will be a "black sheep"." With that, Fugaku left the group of elders and stormed back into the house, leaving them all with smirks on their faces. There was finally going to be a generation where the clan leader's bloodline was not the strongest. There was going to be a few changes within the Uchiha clan. None of them were in favor of Itachi and his parents.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Uchiha Fugaku's disappointment in Itachi grew stronger as the months went by. Itachi never acquired the Sharingan while he was six. His parents had to deal with the fact that all the other Uchiha children were advancing far faster than their own. Fugaku pushed Itachi to the brink of exhaustion for the first month after his entrance to the academy with hopes that the Sharingan would develop. But as the days of training went by without any sight of the Sharingan, Fugaku gave up on his son. Soon, Itachi became ignored. Mikoto tried to get her husband to listen to her reasoning that their son was perfectly fine, and just because the others were developing at alarming rates did not mean that their son was weaker than them. Itachi was growing properly and was perfectly normal, but Fugaku did not want a 'normal' son, he wanted a strong and intelligent son. Despite her efforts to convince her husband, Mikoto soon adopted Fugaku's reasoning. After being around the other elder Uchihas and their boasts of their children she could hardly stand to look at her own son. Itachi had to adapt to the way his parents were acting towards him. He was forced to believe that he was alone and hated." Tsunade stopped for a moment, allowing her words to sink in.

Sakura stood, on the brink of tears, listening intently. She couldn't believe the cruelty Itachi must have suffered because he wasn't a prodigy like the others had expected him to be.

"But then, something happened…" Tsunade continued. "Itachi graduated from the ninja academy at the age of seven, only a year after entering. Fugaku was shocked at hearing the news and believed the academy had to have made some kind of mistake. He approached the senseis at the academy and swore to them that no other son or daughter of the Uchiha household would ever attend the academy that seemed to have lost all sense of 'value'. He believed that they only advanced his son in order to honor him, to make him believe in his son once more. In reality, Uchiha Itachi had the highest grades ever acquired in the entire history of the academy. Fugaku called it blasphemous. Before you pass judgment I want you to remember that Fugaku believed his son to be weak…below average…There was nothing anyone could do to convince him that his son was in truth, remarkable."

"But what about Itachi? Why didn't he prove to his father that he was capable?" Sakura questioned.

"Many of us wanted to know the same thing. We guessed that it was because he did not believe he could convince his parents, the ones who were disappointed in him to the point of ignorance. He felt he had let them down and did not think there was anything he could do to make them love him again. Even when he acquired the Sharingan at the age of eight and was clearly thousands of times stronger than the rest of the children, he kept it to himself. He did not want his parents to love him solely for the fact that he was exceptional. For him, they were too late. He was not becoming stronger for them; he was doing it for himself. And by the time he was ten, he was already a Chuunin. The village was surprised at his sudden accomplishments and praised Fugaku. But again, Fugaku had never seen any of Itachi's capabilities and was once again blinded into thinking the village was setting him up. The clan leader grew furious with Itachi. To him, Itachi was worse than a disappointment, he was now also a cheater and a liar." Tsunade paused. It was difficult to live through those times and even more difficult to recall them.

"How could they have been so cruel! He was their son!" Sakura cried. The horrible reality of Tsunade's words became suddenly apparent.

"The Uchiha clan takes great pride in strength and wisdom. That and the fact that they have one of the greatest advanced blood lines Konoha has ever seen are great influences to why they despise weakness. They would rather choose death than to know that they were impotent. We could have stepped in and done something about the situation but that would have led to indecisions on the next clan leader. It would have broken the ritual of succession. The son of the clan leader is supposed to take up the position after their father is no longer capable to lead. If we had intervened, Itachi would have no doubt lost the title of heir and it would have left the Uchiha clan in a dangerous situation. A war would have undoubtedly broken out if Fugaku would not let another child become his successor. This decision would have reverberated throughout the rest of the clans. Anyone would believe their child could become the next leader if they were strong enough. Konoha would have collapsed."

"What happened after Itachi became Chuunin?" Sakura asked, curious to know what happened to Sasuke's brother.

"At the rate Itachi was going, it was no wonder he became a Jounin at only thirteen. By this time, Itachi and his parents were strangers in the same house. They did not acknowledge each other's existence. Itachi always kept to himself. He was alone, cold and neglected. But he was powerful…incredibly powerful. And though the missions and the ranking were proof enough, Fugaku never came to terms with Itachi. A few months later, Itachi found out that his mother was once again pregnant. He was going to have a younger brother. His father was so overjoyed when Sasuke was born that he exclaimed that he hoped his new son would turn out better than the last. This was Fugaku's most horrible mistake. Years of neglect and hatred brewing inside of Itachi spilled out into his soul."

"Just days after Sasuke's birth, Itachi attacked the Uchiha clan. He mercilessly slaughtered every last Uchiha standing in his way. When he finally penetrated the clan leader's last defenses, he stood looking down at his father who was trying in vain to shield his wife and new born child from his blood soaked son. Itachi was only a month away from becoming an ANBU captain. He overpowered his father a hundred fold. Still, Fugaku stood up and faced his son, Sharingan colliding with a new, evolved version of Sharingan...the Mangekyou Sharingan. Many ANBU and high ranking Jounin were sent to stop Itachi's genocide. Moments before Itachi delivered the final blow, they took him down. Fugaku watched as his son died in front of his eyes. It was then that he realized his greatest mistake. His denial and ignorance had made it impossible for him to believe in anything. Once you convince yourself of something for so long it's incredibly difficult to admit that you were wrong. He never believed in his son. He never accepted him. He had always thought of him as the black sheep. I can only imagine how incredibly horrible it was for Mikoto and Fugaku to stare at their son's lifeless body knowing that they had led him to his demise."

Tears streamed down Sakura's cheeks as she listened to Tsunade. The incredible sorrow enveloping her entire being was astonishing. She collapsed to the ground, dropping her sun hat and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Watching Sakura weep, Tsunade let go of her own tears.

Through stifled sobs Sakura urged Tsunade to continue.

"After realizing the error of their ways, they vowed that they would never repeat the same mistake again. They regarded Sasuke as a second chance…a way to set things right again. They were only one of the few last surviving Uchiha families. The few that still exist today are the ones who have been attempting to help Sasuke after the car accident. Because of all this, the village believes that Sasuke may have the same power as his older brother and may try something similar to that which has already taken place. They do not ever want a repeat of this event. Now, do you understand?" Tsunade said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

Sakura nodded slowly. It was a few minutes before she could stand up again. Still shaking, she picked up her sun hat and placed it back on top of her head. Brushing her tears away, she smiled at Tsunade.

"Thank you for telling me. I know that it was incredibly difficult to recount that experience. Tell me, how did you know of all this?"

"I was one of the Jounin sent in to stop Itachi." Tsunade whispered breathlessly.

Sakura's heart stopped. Time seemed to cease as the full force of the Hokage's words slammed into Sakura's consciousness.

"I-I'm sorry." She knew that it must have been horrible to admit to such a feat.

"No, you had the right to know." Tsunade finished.

Another silence weighed down on them. They watched as the suns rays moved across the room during the hours that they stayed there.

"I have to go." Sakura said finally. Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I have some important matters to get to. And you must return to your job…You must not tell him about any of this; it could destroy him. But I'm sure you knew that…" Tsunade warned.

"I know…Goodbye…" Sakura said. Turning, she brushed off that last remains of tears from her face, straightened her dress and fixed her hair under her hat before reaching out to the door.

"Oh, and one more thing Sakura," Tsunade called, "I know you won't tell anyone but…don't tell Naruto." She said it as if she knew Sakura was going to say something to him. It hurt Sakura to know that Tsunade did not trust her with such a secret. Still, it was a reasonable request.

"Wouldn't dream of it…" Sakura answered, before leaving the stuffy confines of the Hokage's office.

Tsunade watched as another person left her office with the weight of the truth on her shoulders and frowned.

Had she done the right thing?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun shone brightly in the middle of the sky indicating it was near noon. The brilliance outside of the Hokage's office was astonishing, making Sakura blink furiously in order to adjust to the light difference.

The streets of Konoha were filled with people bustling and milling about. Everywhere someone was in the process of doing something; shopping, playing, selling and eating. It was such a beautiful day. Nothing had seemed to change since that morning when Sakura had walked into the office. Nothing except a new knowledge of the past. She scanned the streets and noticed the elderly and wondered if they all knew what she knew. If they did, how were they hiding their knowledge so profoundly?

Would she be able to pretend that she knew nothing? How would she react when she saw Sasuke again? _He didn't even know…_

She breathed out deeply, slouching a little.

"I'll have to try my best," She whispered, straightening and walking down the street.

She turned her head and watched as a mother bought her son an ice cream and smiled sadly. This one distraction was enough for her not to see what was coming.

A sudden blur of color ran down the street and slammed into her full force, sending them both flying.

Sakura's hat flew away from her and as she looked up to see what had hit her, she gasped.

It was Naruto.

"Owwww!" He whined, rubbing his forehead. He stopped and looked up. "Oh, Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry!" He stood quickly and offered her his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

Looking around her spotted her hat and handed it back to her. Thanking him, she brushed it off and replaced it atop her head.

He scratched the back of his head smiling, continuously uttering 'sorry'. He looked nervous as if she were going to hit him for being so clumsy.

"Its fine, I wasn't paying attention either." She said.

Naruto stopped and blinked.

"Oh…Well then, are you alright?" Naruto asked, noticing a small cut on her knee.

She looked down and noticed the small trickle of blood.

"Oh, yeah. It's nothing don't worry about it." She said, reaching down and healing the scrape with her chakra.

"What about you?" She questioned.

"I'm fine…" He said. But his attention wasn't focused on her anymore. He was looking past her shoulder.

"Mhm," Sakura knew something was on his mind, he just wasn't spilling. "So where are you headed?" She asked.

"…No where in particular…" He said, still distracted, straining to see past her.

Sakura turned quickly and noticed a blue haired Kunoichi.

Turning back to Naruto with a gleam in her eye she said, "You know, Hinata hates shopping alone…I'm sure if you went over there she'd be quite pleased."

"What? Oh, um yeah…I guess." Naruto said, his cheeks turning a light shade of red.

Sakura smiled at Naruto's shyness. He had always been assertive and headstrong. The change in him was quite amusing; so amusing she had forgotten what secrets she now held.

When he made no move to approach the kunoichi, Sakura sighed.

"Must I do everything myself?" She muttered, before walking behind Naruto and pushing him towards the store.

"Hey! What are you..?" He started to yell.

"Quiet! Do you want to make a big show out of this?" Sakura hissed, as she stopped pushing him. Hinata had entered the shop she had been looking into. Naruto had spun around to look at Sakura.

"Why don't you just go in there and ask her if she needs any help finding anything?" Sakura asked.

"B-because I…"He stopped. "You're not going to let me off this one are you Sakura-chan?"

"Not on your life!" She said, laughing.

He looked down, debating. What if Hinata didn't want his help? What if she was actually going in the shop to meet someone?

"Just go!" Sakura said, giving him one last shove.

He stumbled away and came to stand in front of the shop's door. He turned and looked back at Sakura who motioned for him to keep going.

He gulped, and entered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pleased with herself, Sakura turned and mentally gave herself a pat on the back.

On her way back to the house, Sakura passed the town's center. She was surprised to see it was cordoned off with yellow tape, showing that people were working there.

She watched as workers scrambled about and gasped at the stage they were putting up at the northern edge of the town square. Lined across the east and the west were rows of booths. Some were for food others were for drinks. Even more were for prizes and souvenirs. The southern edge of the town square, where she was currently standing on the cobblestone street leading towards it, was acquiring a beautiful banner. She looked at the men pulling it up and was surprised to see Tsunade standing there shouting out orders.

As she approached the Hokage she noticed even more men were pulling away the picnic benches from around the fountain in the center of the square.

Tsunade turned to see Sakura coming towards her and smiled.

"Surprised?" She asked. Sakura nodded.

"What's going on here?" She questioned.

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise for you but I forgot you had to come this way…It's my birthday celebration!" She answered, clearly excited.

Sakura gaped in wonder. They had never had anything this extravagant for a Hokage's birthday before.

"What's the stage for?" She asked.

"It's for the band. The area the men are clearing right now is where everyone's going to be dancing. The booths along the side are similar to those we set up during festivals." Tsunade said as she pointed to each designated area. She stopped her explanation to shout out some orders telling the men where to string the lanterns and tie balloons and even more banners.

"Is this all for tomorrow?"

"No, it's for tonight!" Tsunade answered.

"What! How do you expect to get this all done by tonight?"

"It's mostly already done, we just have to finish with the decorations and ensure the band gets here on time." Her smile was genuine. It was such a difference from the expression she had seen on the Hokage's face just minutes before, it was as if they had never talked with one another earlier.

When Sakura didn't come forth with any other questions, the Hokage turned back to the banner.

"I have a lot to get done now Sakura! I'll see you tonight! Oh, and don't forget to bring Sasuke!" She called over her shoulder.

Before Sakura could respond, two men carrying cases full of alcoholic beverages passed in front of her shouting "Excuse me!" and pushing her out of the way.

She left the town square, lifting the yellow tape as she went by.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sweat poured down the sides of his face as his muscles strained with the effort.

"198, 199, 200, 201…" He counted every one-handed push up he completed.

The leaves on the trees surrounding him rustled in the wind. The only other sound was that of his labored breaths. He could smell the fall scent of leaves burning mixed with the scent of his own perspiration. He could taste the salty substance dripping from his features. The muscles on his back glistened with perspiration under the blazing heat of the sun. His black pants stuck to his legs.

As his arm bent and his face came closer to the ground, he could smell the fresh earth. The grass under his palm was irritating.

He had been working out all day. It was the first day since his release from the hospital. They had kept him bed ridden in that damned hospital for a week to ensure he was ok. Unfortunately, they had given that girl an extra week, meaning he had to endure fourteen more days with her.

"210, 211, 212…"

He was pushing himself harder than ever before. Losing an entire week of training was a catastrophe.

His lungs burned like fire from the exertion…

"215, 216, 217…"

He had told them all he had no recollection of anything since the ANBU attack. He didn't want them to know the truth. He didn't want them to know that he had _wanted _to die.

He had given in to the darkness inside him. Letting it consume him. It had been so seductive, telling him that if he gave up, things would have been so much easier.

He had succumbed to its will. He had fallen into the void…It had lied to him. It had promised him that he would have been able to see again. He could have seen his parents again…He could still hear the ghostly whisper of whatever it was…Maybe it was the cold loneliness inside him or maybe it was death itself.

When he had fallen in, there was no light. There was nothing. Just like what he saw now: nothing. His parents weren't there waiting. Everything ceased to exist in that void.

It was even more horrible than his pathetic life. He wasn't just blind in the void, he couldn't hear, taste, smell or touch anything either. There was a complete absence of existence.

But still he gave in, thinking it was too late. His heart had stopped beating and his breathing ceased.

It felt like he would fall forever…or until he faded away.

Then suddenly, he saw something. For the first time since he could remember. It made no sense to him. There was a pink glow ahead of him, growing as he neared it…Then he heard something. The silence in the void cracked and shattered. He heard a voice. It reminded him vaguely of someone he knew once, but he couldn't remember. The void had erased his memory. Then he picked up a scent…a scent he knew belonged to that same person he could not remember. It also reminded him of a flower that he couldn't distinguish. His mind went numb as he felt something soft brush against his hand. Was someone there with him? For a moment, all senses were lost…He thought the person had left him. And he let the void continue to take him.

Just as he knew he was about to disappear…to become nothing more than a memory…the voice returned. This time he could clearly distinguish what it was saying…

"_I loved him!" _The voice shouted. It echoed in his mind, growing louder and louder until he could hardly stand it. The void began to vibrate from the sound until a tiny sliver of white light cracked its black surface. The sliver grew longer and spread like wildfire, creating lightning bolt patterns.

The pressure and strain was too great for the void to stay intact. It shattered into millions of pieces letting the white light engulf him. Suddenly visions flooded his mind, from the time of his birth to the car accident. After that he saw darkness again but he could still hear voices leading up to the present day. He had remembered.

The power of the voice and of the memories forced his heart to beat again and his breathing to return. He sat upright as the light subsided, noticing the return of his senses.

All but one was in full working order. He could hear, smell, taste and touch again…but he was still as blind as a bat.

"_I-it's impossible!"_

"_How can this be right?" _

He heard voices around him, and felt something blocking his mouth. Removing the mask, he called out for one person.

"_Sakura?"_

It was her to whom the voice belonged. It was her voice that had broken the void. It was her that had saved him. Her _noise…_

"_S-Sasuke…h-how are you…?"_

"_You're making too much noise, leave." _He had said, as he had focused all of his attention on her. She was the only person that mattered then. He heard her laugh. The sound was so clear like the peal of a bell.

"_I'll leave when you do." _She had responded, just like she always had. For some reason he didn't respond…he didn't retaliate. He just let the other voices in the room usher her and everyone else out so he could rest. They had forced him back down, asking many questions and performing many tests in order to decide how best to help him.

Their tests lasted a week until they decided it was impossible to understand what had occurred. Every time they asked him, his answer was always the same: "I don't know."

"271, 272, 273…"

He smirked. The memories still played over in his mind. The broken void had revealed to him everything. It had allowed him to hear and feel things all over again.

Including a certain night he never knew had occurred. A night where he had been incredibly idiotic in overdosing on pain killers. A night where he had kissed her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura opened the door and stepped into the foyer. She took off her sun hat and placed it on the coat stand. Stepping out of her shoes she walked to the kitchen and slumped down into one of the wooden chairs. Exhausted, she leaned back, closing her eyes and putting her arm across her forehead. _What a morning. _She thought.

And to think she still had a dance to go to.

She bolted upright at that last thought, eyes wide. How on earth was she planning to go to this celebration and drag _him _along? Suddenly nervous, she surveyed the area around her, looking for any sign of another living being. She noticed the curtains had been pulled away from the back door and got up to investigate.

Sure enough, Uchiha Sasuke was out in the backyard, training. She stopped for a moment and let her mind drift away, blushing as she watched the strain of his muscles and his heavy breathing.

A smirk appeared on his lips, snapping her out of her reverie. Did he sense her? Even through the door?

Panic gripped her for a second, and she debated whether or not to approach him…It really was bad timing. He hated being bothered while training. Scratch that. He hated being bothered period.

But if she didn't tell him now, they'd end up being late for the celebration.

Gulping, she opened the door and entered the backyard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"298, 299, 300." He counted aloud, stopping his exercise as he reached three hundred.

He heard her coming near him and used his arm to push himself to a standing position.

Panting for breath, he reached around looking for a towel. He felt a soft hand take hold of his own and direct it to the terry cloth material. Snatching his hand away, he reached out and took hold of the towel on his own accord, now that he knew where it was. He did not say thank you, instead he wiped the sweat from his face and threw the towel back down.

"You're welcome." She said sarcastically.

"Go away." He replied with his icy tone.

"I need to talk to you." She replied, in a tone equally as cold.

"Then spit it out. I don't have all day."

She was surprised that he was actually giving her the chance to speak. The delayed reaction was enough for him to grow annoyed.

"If you're not going to say it then I'm going for a shower." He threatened, taking a step forward to prove he wasn't joking.

"N-no wait. Um, actually it's more of a request…" She started.

He raised an eyebrow, curious to what she could possibly want from him.

"Would you come with me to the Hokage's birthday celebration tonight?" She finished.

His expression instantly changed into a frown. He concentrated all his annoyed emotions to her pink aura. She felt his answer before he even opened his mouth.

"No." He stated simply before continuing to walk past her and into the house.

Left there, open-mouthed, Sakura was finally at a loss for words. It wasn't from the shock of the answer, she knew he'd say that…but more from the ignorance. There was no hesitation when he replied. There wasn't even a moment where he stopped to think about her request.

It hadn't even dawned on him that he had no choice in the matter.

Smiling evilly, Sakura followed him inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later, Sasuke exited the shower and entered his room. He reached out to his bed where he had laid out his clothes. He was surprised when he felt different material than the clothes he had chosen. Outraged, he felt about the room, searching for other clothes that he could put on temporarily so he could go yell at _the girl. _

He yelled out in frustration when he found no other articles of clothing were in his room.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the kitchen sat Sakura, sipping on some tea. She heard the outburst from Sasuke and smiled.

He'd have no choice but to put on the clothes she had set out. They were what she wanted him to wear to the dance.

She jumped as she heard footsteps stomping down the stairs. Turning expectantly she gasped as she realized he was not wearing the clothes. He had chosen to defy her wishes and kept the towel wrapped around his waist.

The heat created from her blush was suffocating. She shrieked and dropped her tea in an attempt to cover her eyes. She cried out in pain as the scalding liquid burned her thigh.

A look of confusion replaced the one of anger on Sasuke's face. Swearing he pulled Sakura up from the chair.

"I-I'm fine…just a burn…" She said, voice shaking from her tears.

Pulling her towards the sink, he wet a cloth.

"Where?" He asked stoically.

"My leg…" She whimpered.

"Show me." He commanded.

Doing as she was told, she took hold of his hand holding the cloth and guided it to her thigh. Uncomfortable with the contact and noticing his hesitation, she attempted to take the cloth from him muttering, "Its ok, I've got it."

"Don't, you'll just make it worse." He snapped.

He gently pressed the cloth to her thigh, dabbing up the excess tea. He wrung out the cloth and re-wet it, repeating his earlier motions.

Sakura, despite the pain, noticed immediately their proximity. He was wearing nothing but a towel and was washing her thigh.

Her brain seemed to freeze as all she could do was stand there and let him finish. She didn't even have sense enough to wonder why he was helping her. She could only concentrate on his cinnamon scent.

"There." He said, judging by her calm demeanor that she was alright. "Is it better now?"

"H-huh? Oh! Yeah...Um, thanks…"She mumbled as she stepped away from him to sit back on the chair and examine the marks under her dress. Her thigh was burning red. She prayed it would not blister. She had only hoped that she knew how to heal herself using her chakra. _Maybe someday…_She thought.

There was silence as he sat down in the chair across from her.

"Why did you do that?" She managed to whisper.

"Because you're an idiot." He replied coldly.

"What! It's not my fault you made me jump!"

"Yes it is. You should learn to concentrate harder instead of having your head in the clouds all the time." He stated.

"And you should learn to put on proper clothing when in the presence of a lady!" She retorted.

"Lady? Where?" He said mockingly, pretending to be startled.

Sakura just glared daggers at him. He could feel the anger radiating from her.

"A true lady wouldn't have taken all my clothes just to force me to wear something she chose out." He commented.

"How else was I supposed to get you to go to the celebration?" She questioned through clenched teeth.

"You could have asked." He said matter-of-factly.

"I did. And you said no."

"Exactly. Now I'm going to tell you again because you clearly didn't get it the first time. I'm not going to the celebration. Where did you put my clothes?" He asked as he stood.

She stood as well, crossing her arms.

"What makes you think I'd tell you? You're not getting them back until you agree to go."

"You're either the most idiotic or the most stubborn girl I've ever met."

"You couldn't have met very many then." She snapped back.

"You'd be surprised." He muttered more to himself than to her. "Now tell me so I can go get dressed." He commanded.

"Come to the celebration with me in the clothes I chose for you and you'll get your clothes back." She replied.

"You're pissing me off."

"Go figure." She said sarcastically. "You obviously know you don't have any choice; so just swallow your pride and go put those clothes on."

"It has nothing to do with pride. I just have better things to be doing than going to parties."

"Oh really? Like what?"

"Training. I've become weak. That's unacceptable."

Sakura sighed deeply.

"Why do you still feel like you have to prove yourself? Everyone knows your strength!"

"Because they won't make me a Jounin." He stated stoically. "My current strength isn't good enough. I'm just as useful as to them alive as I am dead unless I can prove myself. That won't happen if I'm off wasting my time with you." Though no emotion showed on his visage, Sakura felt the ferociousness of them.

She looked to the floor, eyes jaded.

"You really think they're still going to accept you if you train harder? Get real." She whispered.

Anger rose within Sasuke. He hated her for taking his clothes. He hated her for being there. And he hated her for being _right. _

The village would never see him as anything other than what he was: useless. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how long he trained…They would _never _consider him their equal.

It was just how it was. Why did he still pretend like he could change their minds?

Deep inside, he wanted to be like them. He wanted to be considered a real shinobi. He wanted to be accepted. He wanted to be able to see; to experience life the way they did.

"You're right…"He stated. "Fine." With that he turned and walked back upstairs.

A moment later he returned dressed in the clothes Sakura had chosen. He wore a white t-shirt under a bigger, unbuttoned black t-shirt. He wore baggy, dark blue jeans held up by a black belt. Sakura noticed his cinnamon scent had been amplified.

_He looks amazing, _she thought, blushing slightly.

"Let's go." He stated simply.

"Hold on. I have to change. I can't wear this dress now that it's covered in tea." She said, before rushing past him to change.

"Hurry the hell up." She heard him say as she entered her room. She noticed something different about his voice. He wasn't speaking as coldly as before…_What had she done? _

Nearly a half hour later Sakura found her way downstairs.

"Finally." Sasuke said, clearly annoyed that he had to wait.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Whatever." He shook it off and walked towards the door.

"Not for making you wait….For telling you that you couldn't accomplish your goal. I was wrong. I just wanted you to go to the celebration…You can still become a Jounin. You can still prove yourself."

"No… I can't." He whispered, as he opened the door and stepped outside.

Sakura stood still for a moment. She knew that what she said would probably never happen, but she hadn't meant for him to give up hope. She was failing miserably.

She snapped out of her thoughts in time to pull on her shoes and run after the Uchiha who was already walking towards the town's center.

They walked silently side by side. Sakura had changed out of her summer dress to put on a white tank top under a black hooded sweatshirt. Instead of pants she chose a short black skirt that came just above her knees, revealing the white bandage she had wrapped around her burn. She had also put on a black pendant necklace and pinned her hair up with a black clip. Pink strands traced the contours of her soft cheeks. Silver earrings dangled from her ears, glittering in the last dying rays of sunlight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They could hear the music before they could see where it was originating from. As they turned the last corner and stood before the entrance to the festivities Sakura gasped in awe.

It looked as if the whole town had shown up. The entire town square was filled with people talking, dancing, eating, drinking, buying, playing and partying. The noise and music was deafening. The beat from the music was pulsing. Balloons, steamers, banners, confetti and lanterns were everywhere. The lights from the stands were flashing neon colors which were reflected in the water from the fountain. Fireworks were going off continuously even though night was still an hour away. The smells from the various food mingling together was wonderful. Sakura could feel the excitement and life from everyone. It was all overwhelming.

A thought struck her. Would Sasuke be alright? How could he distinguish anything in all the commotion?

"C'mon!" She yelled to him above the music, grabbing a hold of his arm and pulling him nearer to the stage.

She was surprised when he didn't protest at her dragging him around. Maybe he was afraid of getting lost. _Yeah right. _She thought.

Sakura spotted Naruto and the others and made her way to them, never letting go of Sasuke.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto called to her. He had been dancing with Hinata who was looking rather flushed.

"Hey! Looks like everything worked out ok." She commented, nodding in the direction of Hinata.

Naruto blushed. "Oh! Yeah…" He said, rubbing the back of his head. "I ended up buying her some ice cream after we left the shop and that's when she asked who I was going with to this celebration. After I told her I hadn't planned on coming, she asked if I wouldn't mind going with her. I guess I owe you one!"

"Nah, forget about it! I was just helping a friend out!" She called back. He smiled and gave her the thumbs up before returning to Hinata.

Sakura shared a few words with the others, but soon found it incredibly difficult to carry on a conversation.

Sasuke stood beside her at all times, arms crossed. People jostled into him but he never budged.

One person bumped into him and said: "Hey! What's the matter with you are you blind or some…" He stopped when Sasuke opened his eyes and stared in the direction of the man's voice. "Oh, hey sorry man!" The guy called before backing away and disappearing into the crowd.

Sasuke grabbed onto Sakura's arm.

"That's it, I'm leaving." He breathed into her ear.

As he started to turn, she pulled him back towards her.

"Are you kidding me? You're stuck here now. You'd never find your way out of here without someone to guide you." She smirked knowingly.

"Wandering around aimlessly would be better than standing around here doing nothing but going deaf." He snapped back.

"Then come dance with me!" She shouted.

"I don't dance." He replied.

"Of course you do! Everyone does, they just choose not to!"

"I'm not going to dance." He said, more firmly.

"Are you blushing?" She asked, astonished by the pink tinge in his cheeks. She had never seen that before.

"I don't blush." He nearly yelled.

"Yes you are! You're cheeks are pink!" She laughed.

"I hate pink." He shouted at her.

Sakura stopped laughing instantly. Sasuke felt her tense up and pull away from him.

"My hair's pink." She shouted back at him, rage clear in her voice.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. If she were expecting an apology she'd never get one. _How was he supposed to know? _He thought.

Suddenly, another shinobi about Sasuke's age approached Sakura.

He had messy brown hair and playful brown eyes. He wore all baggy clothes from the navy t-shirt to the faded black jeans. He was a head taller than Sakura and smelled of pine needles.

Sakura knew immediately that he was trouble. But she didn't care.

"Wanna dance?" The shinobi asked, offering her his hand.

"I'd love to." She replied, glaring in Sasuke's direction as she spoke. She knew her words had stung him even if he didn't want them to.

She allowed the shinobi to pull her close to him as they danced to the fast-paced song. He seemed to be experience so she let him lead. It wasn't until he started dancing more aggressively that she became uncomfortable. She started to tell him to ease up.

"Aw, c'mon baby, I'm just having some fun." He said, pulling her closer. He wrapped his arms around her, as they danced together to the music.

"I think I better get going…" She said trying to pull away. He was being way too aggressive for her tastes. He held on to her tightly.

"Let go!" She shouted.

"Hey don't worry; I won't let anything bad happen to you baby." He whispered in her ear. He was sickening. His hands started to wander and she screamed at him.

"I said let go!"

She kneed him in the stomach and pulled out of his grasp. He stumbled, cursing. He glared up at her.

"You little-" He started. He never got to finish telling her what she was because a second later he had been knocked out.

But not by Sakura. Sasuke had punched him with enough force to send him flying. Everyone around them just gasped at the sudden violent out burst.

"We're leaving." He said, pulling Sakura away from the unconscious shinobi.

"Let go of me!" Sakura yelled at him. "I could have handled that asshole! You didn't have to step in like that!" She didn't want to leave yet, they had hardly been there for ten minutes.

Sasuke wasn't listening to her. He was focusing all of his senses on which way was the way out. He pushed through crowds of people, running into some of them, until finally they were away from the town square.

Using the sounds around him, he decided where the sidewalk was and continued to pull Sakura despite the fact that he was unsure whether or not he was going in the right direction.

Sakura didn't say anything in protest concerning the direction. All the protests she made were her constant screams yelling at him to let her go.

They continued on in this fashion, Sasuke pulling Sakura, and Sakura digging her heels into the ground and protesting with all her might, until they reached the Uchiha household.

It wasn't until Sasuke stood at the front door that he let go of her wrist, throwing it away from him as if her skin burnt his hand. Her wrist was red from his crushing grip.

"I hate you!" She screamed at him.

He didn't say anything.

"You had no right intruding like that! You made a huge scene! How could you embarrass me like that?" She continued to scream.

Still, he said nothing.

"I had everything under control!" She yelled at him.

"It didn't sound like it to me." He replied calmly.

"I COULD HAVE HANDLED HIM MYSELF!"

"I highly doubt that." He stated, still calmly.

"Yeah, well….well…" She searched around for other things she could yell at him for.

"Well what?" He asked, hoping that she'd scream at him some more. It was the only thing left that made him _feel _anything anymore.

"If it bothered you so much you should have asked me first!" She yelled before storming off into the house.

_What is she spouting this time? _He asked himself.

Her dancing with that guy did not bother him. He hadn't punched the guy because he was jealous. He hadn't dragged her off so that she wouldn't get hurt…

Or so he told himself.

He followed her inside.

He had expected her to be in her room, with the door closed.

But she stood in the hall facing him. Almost as if she had been waiting for him.

He knew she was there from the way everything changed when he was around her. The scent on the air, the feeling of her emotions and power of her aura.

He wondered how she would ever be a proper kunoichi when she revealed all her emotions so freely.

"Tell me something," She started. "You've been acting differently ever since the hospital…How much of what you told us was true? Can you truly remember nothing?"

He was surprised at the sudden change in subject and the new emotions emanating from her.

Sakura hadn't forgotten what Tsunade had told her earlier. She never would forget. But she had found it surprisingly easy to keep it from her mind when in the presence of the shaded boy she saw standing in front of her now.

"I lied." He answered her.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"But…why?" She questioned.

It was then that Sasuke told her everything that had happened during the time he had died. He dug up all his secrets and showcased them for her that night. He explained to her the void, and the sensations he experienced. And he told her about how he could hear that voice. The voice he knew belonged to her.

Sakura didn't say a word while he recounted his experience. She was speechless. Sasuke was opening up. He was telling her everything. No questions asked. He wasn't arguing with her or swearing at her. He was just… accepting her. Finally letting go of his hatred and consenting to her being there.

His voice sent shivers up and down her spine as she let it take hold of her imagination and let her feel what he must have felt. She experienced what he experienced.

She listened to every last word of it, absorbing it all. She didn't know how to react when he told her that he had heard her say those three irrevocable words.

It hadn't dawned on her that when he told her all his memories had returned that he had also remembered the kiss. It hadn't dawned on her until he procured an empty pain killer bottle tied with a bow made from a red ribbon from his pocket and pressed it into her palm.

He walked past her letting two words hang in the air, "I'm sorry."

_For what? _She wondered. For the kiss? For the dance? For everything? She wanted to know.

Almost as in reply, he said from the stairs:

"For you loving me. Because you know, I can never love you back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke sat awake that night, pondering his actions.

Why had he told her everything?

Was it because he had felt guilty for what had had done that night?

Was it because she had told him more than he had asked for and he felt he had to repay her?

Or was it because something about the idea of telling her was tempting?

He had hated everything about her. He had wanted nothing to do with her.

Fate had decided differently.

_Yes. _He thought. _It had been the temptation. _

It had been that enticing feeling to see what it would be like to confide in someone. The need to know and experience something he hadn't for years.

That was it…That was the answer to why he had done it.

It had all been within temptation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N:**

Wow. 10, 099 words. New record! Wow. Nearly five months since I last updated. New ((horrible)) record! Takes cover from tomato-throwing (angry/dedicated) readers! I guess sorry really wouldn't cut it! But I'll say it anyway: Sorry for the super long wait! Hope the length/plot makes up for it….Hope being the operative word. Thanks for your support on the last chapter despite it being way cheesy…Tell me what you thought of this one! I know I kind of drifted away from what Sakura thought about everything and focused more on Sasuke in this one, but it's always been about Sakura. I needed the change or else I would have become overly-Sakura obsessed. There's definitely something different about the feel of this one. Most likely not the best chapter I've written but I'm sure all writers get their off-chapters…If there's such a thing… Anyways, before I ramble on trying to make up for the loss of time, thanks for reading! I hope the next chapter comes quicker than this one did. I probably won't make it as long for the sake of your eyes…Please review!

Thanks to everyone who did last chapter! And thanks for the dedicated readers who haven't given up on this story yet!

-AdventRain


	16. Chapter 15: Of Demons and Angels

**Chapter 15: Of Demons and Angels**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Temptation-_noun_: The act of enticing or allurement;-_synonyms_: lure, attraction, pull, seduction, inducement.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"…_Because you know, I can never love you back." _

The statement haunted her as she sat awake that night, untying and retying the red ribbon around the empty bottle of pills.

"Yeah, I know…" She whispered into the empty darkness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He sat awake in the dark confines of his room, barely moving a muscle. Silence was his only comfort in the stillness of the night.

He couldn't sleep; he didn't know why…

He felt no remorse and no guilt for what he said. He was indifferent, as he should be.

In his mind, those who believed 'love' could actually exist were those who would end up like him…Alone and unwanted. He remembered that once upon a time, he had known such an emotion, but those two people were long gone…they were never coming home. Words that he associated with 'love' were abandonment, pain, loneliness, suffering…He couldn't be blamed for it. No one had shown him what love truly meant. Not that he wanted them to…

So when the foolish girl had confessed that she loved him, what else could he believe other than the fact that she was lying? That she'd eventually leave him too? Like all the others…

She was a liar. They all were.

xXxXxXxX

"_Want to play this with me, Okasan?" The eight year old Uchiha Sasuke asked his mother. He was holding up a new board game he had just received as his birthday gift. _

"_No not right now Sasuke, you're supposed to be getting ready to go to the festival, like we promised. Now go." Uchiha Mikoto replied, urging her son to prepare to leave for the Cherry Blossom Festival. As she watched him leave, she couldn't help but notice the disappointed look on his face._

"_Sasuke!" She called to him, "Don't be so upset, we can play when we get back, okay?" She asked, trying to cheer her son up. _

_A smile appeared on his face, "Okay, but only if you promise!" He called back._

"_I promise." She stated. She smiled as she watched him become excited at the prospect of returning to play his new game. _

_Ten minutes later, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto got into their car with their eight year old son heading to the Cherry Blossom Festival for the first time. _

_And their last. _

xXxXxXxX

After the accident, he remembered attending his parents' funeral. Back then he didn't understand entirely…Back then, he was the last one standing around their graves while everyone else went home to their own families. _They _still had a family to go home to…

He remembered whispering silently to his mother's grave, "_You promised you'd come back and play with me…You lied to me…" _

He hated the world for what it did to him. It had taken away his parents and made him blind.

But his hate could not be turned to revenge…You can't get back at the world, no matter how hard you try.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She stood out on the balcony, the curtains blowing in the wind. She needed air.

His words still echoed in her mind as she leaned on the railing, resting her chin in her palm. She was surprised to feel tears streaming down her cheeks.

She was pathetic. Completely and utterly deplorable. She forced back the tears, not quite sure why they had come.

She was the one who fell in love with the one person who would never love her back. She was the one who allowed herself to fall prey to her emotions. She was the one who could never leave things well enough alone.

And she was the one who let herself get hurt. Despite her cheery attitude towards most people and her tough personality she acquired when she was around him, she felt like she was dying inside.

The worst part was that she had known he'd never love her back and it was still affecting her this way.

"You're such an idiot," She whispered to herself, letting her words get caught on the wind.

She didn't even understand her feelings. How could she love him after everything that's happened? After convincing herself she hated him?

She couldn't think of a single reason. She couldn't think of anything they had in common. They were complete opposites.

"This is insane…You don't really love him...And if you do, you can't." She said to herself. She was trying desperately to sort out her feelings. And if it were possible, change them.

Maybe it was just temporary. Maybe it would go away, like those usual crushes…

Something inside her told her this was no crush; it wouldn't go away.

Giving up, she came into acceptance. She gave a deep sigh.

"You love him." She whispered. The wind carried her words again, and she imagined them being taken away, far away to a place where they could never return.

She knew she had hated him for all the right reasons, she just prayed that when she discovered the reasons for why she loved him, they weren't for all the wrong ones.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Loud boisterous laughter filled the small, dim-lit room of the bar. All around people were talking animatedly to one another, drinking their alcoholic beverages and trying to be heard over the loud background music. Sakura gazed down at her half-empty glass and gave a deep sigh. She swirled the glass around before dumping the rest of its contents down her throat.

"Want another?" The handsome bartender asked her.

"Yeah…that would be nice…" Her words were slightly slurred; she was on her fifth glass already.

"I don't see you around here often; this your first time?" He asked, as he reached for the bottles below the counter.

"I've been around once or twice…" She mumbled, slumped over.

"Ah…Well here you go." He said as he slid the glass gently towards her.

"Thanks." She replied, not noticing how much his face had become blurry over the last half-hour. Taking another gulp, she was surprised to hear him continuing his conversation with her. She wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.

She knew he was speaking to her, but his words weren't reaching her. She was observing him, through the blur, taking him in for the first time that night. He had chestnut brown hair which shaded his green eyes slightly due to its length. He had a prominent jaw line, attractive in most men. He wore a simple black suit, bar towel thrown carelessly over his shoulder. He looked about 17…Only two years older than Sakura.

She had not lied when she told him that she had been there before…It was one of the few places left in Konoha that did not ask for i.d. As long as you didn't look under 10 years old and could hold your own, you could come in for a drink or two.

"Hey are you alright?" He was asking her once her mind came back to earth.

"Oh yeah…Sorry, did you say something?" She questioned, frowning in concentration.

"Well, I was just asking if you'd go out with me sometime." He replied.

Sakura blushed a deep crimson. She was so caught off guard by the question, she nearly fell off the bar stool.

"Oh, um…you see there's this…complication." She started, stuttering every few seconds, and not because of the alcohol.

The bartender laughed. Sakura looked at him in confusion.

"How stupid of me; I should have known a beautiful girl like you would already have a boyfriend…"

"Oh well it's not that exactly…"

"You don't have a boyfriend?" He asked, looking more confused than she did.

"No…I mean, I do. Well not really…You see it's complicated."

"Haha. I'm sorry, I don't really see at all."

"Well, you see, I'm in love with someone already. But he just…He says he can't love anyone…" She looked away, and for lack of anything better to do, took another swig from her glass.

"Oh…" He replied.

"Yeah…It's hard you know? I have to see him everyday and know that he's so alone and I can't do anything about it…" She looked straight into the bartender's eyes, letting him see the tears that had started to fall. He looked surprised and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a white handkerchief with the initial J embroidered in gold thread.

"Here, take this." He said, taking her hand and giving her the silk cloth.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to trouble you with my problems…" She said, bringing the handkerchief to her cheeks and gently dabbing the salty liquid away. "I don't even know your name!" She laughed.

"It's Jet. And don't worry about it…Every once in a while you need to get these sorts of things off your chest. You can't imagine how many people come in here and start telling me all that's been happening to them. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't bother me in the least. Besides, how else would I get to meet such pretty girls like you?" He said, revealing one of the most perfect smiles she had ever seen in her life.

She smiled and placed the handkerchief on the counter, thanking him for his kindness. They continued to talk for a few minutes until she finished her drink.

Standing, she said goodbye and, after picking her jacket up off the counter, turned to leave.

"Wait!" He called to her. "I told you my name but you never gave me yours."

"It's Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She said, smiling. She blushed as she covered her mouth, trying to hide a hiccup.

"Well then Madame Haruno, be careful going home. Come back soon!" He called to her, a laughing smile played on his lips.

"I promise!" She called back. She turned again and exited the crowded bar, hearing his heart filled laugh mingle with her own soft giggle.

It was nearing four in the morning. The bar would close soon…She was surprised that she had never met Jet before that night. She liked him; he was a great person. Putting on her jacket, she stopped walking down the deserted sidewalk when she realized something fell out of it.

She bent down (trying to keep her balance) and picked up a silk handkerchief, initialed with the letter J.

"Oh no!" She said, realizing she must have grabbed it by mistake. She looked at her watch and realized that the bar was closing.

"I have to get this back to him!" She said, turning around and running back toward the bar.

In her hurry, she ran to the sidewalk opposite the bar. Noticing that Jet was just locking up, she rushed across the street and called out to him.

She didn't notice the car that had just turned around the corner. She didn't notice how fast it was going…

But she did notice excruciating pain as the car hit her…and drove off.

She heard Jet scream her name and rush towards her. But after that, there was darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A dark figure stalked the streets of Konoha in the early hours of the morning muttering and cursing to himself. Hands shoved in his pockets, Uchiha Sasuke walked down deserted street after deserted street.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself, stopping before turning onto another road. He turned around and walked back down the street from which he came.

"She left at nearly one in the morning and hasn't come back." He told himself, stopping and turning around again to walk down the same street.

"It's not my job to make sure she's ok." He tried convincing himself, again turning around and walking in the other direction.

"She's an idiot…with extremely bad luck. She's probably getting herself mixed up with the ANBU again…" He said, again turning around.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of sirens off in the distance, fast approaching. Seconds later an ambulance sped past him. His heart sank.

Even though he had no idea what Sakura could possibly doing, his gut instincts told him something was wrong…horribly wrong, and he knew that maybe, just maybe that ambulance was for her.

He raced after the fading sirens, trying desperately to feel the change in the ground, the objects in front of him and the corners he had to turn without slamming into anything. This proved difficult as the blood started rushing through his veins, pumping his heart faster and faster until it was all he could hear. Whipping past intersections and red lights he found himself suddenly surrounded by a small crowd.

Many people were whispering, others were shouting and some were crying. He knew he'd found the scene of the accident…. All he needed to do was prove that it wasn't Sakura and he could go on with his night.

He heard a very familiar voice not too far to his right. Reaching out, he grabbed on to the person's shoulder and turned him around.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out in surprise, there was a tone in his voice that Sasuke couldn't recognize…A tone he had never heard before coming from the dobe.

"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned.

"You don't know?" Naruto asked, his body suddenly tensing, voice dropping to barely a whisper. Apprehension suddenly dawned on Naruto's face.

"What? What's happening? Tell me!" Sasuke demanded, frustrated at the fact that he had no clue what was going on and how much of a blind idiot he was making himself look.

"Of course you wouldn't know…you never cared…" Sasuke felt like Naruto was speaking in riddles. Anger welled up inside the raven haired boy.

He pushed Naruto out of the way muttering "Useless" as he passed by. He continued to make his way through the crowd, never apologizing when he shoved someone aside.

Not a second later, he bumped into someone who he could identify a mile away. It was the Hokage.

"What's going on here?" He demanded, nearly yelling at her.

"Sasuke!" She seemed even more surprised than Naruto had that he had shown up. "Where were you!?" She started to shout at him.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"First of all, watch your tone and second of all don't act like you don't know. How could you not know?"

"Why won't someone just tell me what the fuck's going on here?!"

In a split second, Tsunade raised her hand and slapped him across the face. The few people around them, including ambulance workers and several investigators, suddenly became quiet.

"Tell me…do you not care for anyone but yourself so passionately that you would put others' lives in danger?" She asked him, suddenly radiating a sense of blame.

"…It's Sakura isn't it?"

The physical change of Tsunade's body told him that he was right. She wasn't accusatory anymore, she wasn't angry anymore….but she was sad…

Silence passed between them for what seemed an eternity though it was only seconds. The flashing lights and the murmuring crowd seemed to blend together as Sasuke wished that for once in his life he hadn't been right.

Finally, Tsunade whispered, holding back her tears, "She's been in a car accident…"

Sasuke froze. Images of seven years ago flashed before in his mind…the swerving truck, the drunk driver, his father yelling, glass and blood everywhere…and the screaming…the last screams of those about to die that have haunted him from that day…

"Where is she?!" He yelled, pushing past Tsunade in an attempt to figure out where Sakura was, praying she wasn't on her way to a coroner.

"They're putting her in the ambulance now." She called to him, as police tried holding him back telling him he couldn't cross the cursed yellow tape.

"Let me be with her." He asked Tsunade and she nodded to the police telling them to let him pass.

"We'll ride in the ambulance." She informed the officials, taking hold of Sasuke's arm and leading him towards the vehicle.

They let them pass the tape instructing them to avoid disturbing the crimson blood on the cold pavement.

Sasuke became more wary at the thought of blood, but the fact that it was on the road meant that she couldn't have been in the vehicle during the time of the accident. It didn't make the situation any better, but at least he could narrow down the possibilities of what happened to her. In fact the situation could have been worse, because she didn't have the protection of a car's safety features…He took his mind off the possibilities and focused on what was happening around him.

He and Tsunade were sitting down in the back of the ambulance, alongside the stretcher carrying the injured cherry blossom. The ambulance drivers slammed the doors shut and in a moment they were racing towards the hospital.

Sasuke was troubled by the fact that, at the sight of Sakura's body, Tsunade seemed to have burst out in tears. Unfortunately, along with her feelings of grief, she reacquired the need to blame someone for the incident. And the easiest prey was him.

"What were you doing while she was out by herself this late at night?!" She questioned. "Didn't you have enough sense to prevent her from going out, getting drunk and getting into an accident?"

"Like I knew what she was doing or what would happen…" He replied sarcastically.

"So you're denying that any of this was your fault when you were the only one who could have prevented it?!" She demanded.

"No. I never said that." He answered.

"What are you saying? It was all my fault." A voice across from them said.

Sasuke was confused at the sudden appearance of another person, one that he had not sensed since being in the ambulance.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked bluntly.

"The name's Jet. I was the last one with Sakura." He replied, grief evident in his voice.

The first emotion that surfaced within Sasuke was unknown to him, but the second caused him to stand up threateningly…

"You're the one that let her get hurt?!" He asked, knowing full well that the blame was not all his.

"Sit down." Tsunade said trying to steady her shaking voice, "Both of you could have prevented this…Sasuke, you could have stopped her from leaving the house and Jet, you could have made sure she was safe since you knew she was intoxicated…She's still too young, she should've known better…" She continued to cry quietly to herself, letting Sasuke investigate this "Jet" better.

"You knew she was drunk?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course, I was with her at the bar where she came to have a drink. We talked for a while, got to know one another, then she left. I was just leaving when I heard her calling out to me…I turned around and in a split second a car came out of know where and hit her…"

Sasuke was silent for a while, deliberating. Mixed emotions swam inside his usually cold heart; one of which surprised him immensely: jealousy. He was unsure, but perhaps it was because Sakura seemed to have enjoyed herself with "Jet"…after running from _him_…

"What was she doing crossing the street without looking?" It was a rhetorical question; he doubted anyone would know until she recovered…**if** she recovered.

"I have no clue, but I had asked her out…maybe she had changed her mind…" Jet answered him, speaking thoughtfully; knowing _exactly_ what emotions he would set off.

Anger rose in Sasuke. Who did this guy think he was? He was acting like he _knew _her; like she was already _his._

"She's a fool." He said, directing his attention to the stretcher.

Jet smiled, "From what I can tell, _you're_ the fool."

Sasuke turned his attention back towards Jet.

"What makes you think you know me?" he seethed.

"Sakura and I may have spent a lot of time together tonight, but the whole time she was talking about _you. _Even after I asked her out, she said she couldn't because she already cared for someone. She's totally into you and you're completely ignorant. Any guy would kill for a girl like her. From what I can tell, she's beautiful, funny, smart…" Jet replied knowingly.

"I don't care. If you want to go out with her then go ahead. It has nothing to do with me." Sasuke replied coldly, thankful that the ambulance had pulled to a sudden stop and they were taking the stretcher from the vehicle. Still, he couldn't ignore the sudden feeling of happiness at the fact that, even when she was with Jet, the only one she talked about was him…Suppressing these new, unwanted feelings, he forced himself to focus on the problem at hand.

Both he and Jet followed Tsunade and the ambulance workers into the hospital. Sakura was rushed to the emergency room. Jet, Tsunade and Sasuke were told to wait in the sitting room. While they were there, Tsunade ordered Jet to tell Shizune to send yet another letter to Sakura's parents. During the ANBU dilemma, she had sent one telling them that their daughter was in the hospital, but she had sent another one telling them to continue with their mission for their daughter had recovered sooner than they could arrive. Now they'd need another letter telling them to abort the mission and return to Konoha. Sakura was in a far worse condition.

Once Jet had left, she told Sasuke to sit and wait there while she went and checked on the operation (she'd lend her medical skills wherever possible.)

Once alone, Sasuke contemplated the events of that evening.

He was unsure of how he felt about Jet though he knew he should feel nothing at all. He couldn't make sense of any of it. He had a sense of guilt for what happened to Sakura but worry seemed to have faded since he had first discovered the accident. She would be all right; she had the best medic-nin working on her.

He was frustrated with himself, for worrying, for _caring…_even if it were for only a short period of time, he was thankful that everyone was too preoccupied with Sakura to notice his sudden behavior. He hated her, yet here he was, needing to know if she was alright. But no one needed to know that; all they needed to know was that he was there because she had been staying with him.

The flashbacks from his past still lingered in his mind. Now that the memories had been re-awakened he was having trouble trying to rid himself of them as he had learned to do when he was outside of his dreams…or rather, nightmares.

Leave it to Sakura to complicate his life to such an extreme extent.

He still worried about his earlier emotions however; he hadn't experienced such emotions as happiness and jealousy for a really long time. It scared him. Fear: another emotion he experienced only every so often. What was happening to him? How could she affect him in such a way? Even when she wasn't around him?

He had attempted to draw a line somewhere, throw up another barrier by telling her that he could never love her. He had thought it worked, but after what Jet had told him, maybe not as effectively as he would have liked.

He started to wonder if he could ever force her away from him…Maybe she wouldn't make it out alive and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Something inside him told him that he'd rather have her alive and annoying as hell than dead.

Weird how these things work.

Here he was, cold, alone and filled with hate; in other words, a monster, a demon. And he was perfectly fine, save his blindness. There she was, in love with him, had a family and friends and was a wonderful person; in other words, someone who everyone loved, an angel. And she was soaked with blood, and dying for all he knew.

It should have been him dying in there; it should have been him who died along with his parents all those years ago. But no…he was forced to live this cursed life. One where he could not experience anything the same way as a normal person. One where he could never love and be loved. Not by Sakura, not by anyone.

Tsunade reappeared nearly four hours later. Sasuke became apparent of her aura's calm grief and sadness. He knew whatever news she had to give him of Sakura's condition; it wasn't going to be good.

"Well?" He asked brusquely.

"She…she's lost a lot of blood, broken many bones and is only semi-conscious…But that's the better part of the news…" She started.

Sasuke waited impatiently, bracing himself for the worst.

"When the car hit her, she was thrown to the ground at such an angle that her skull hit first. This has caused brain damage that we may not be able to heal." She continued.

"So, she'll lose some of her memory or maybe her intelligence?" Sasuke questioned.

"No…" Tsunade paused, tears coming once again.

"She could lose her eyesight."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Dun-dun-dunnnnn! Lol Man I really wasn't working for a cliffy! But oh well, next chapter will be up soon…And depending on how I feel once I'm done writing it, it may be the LAST chapter. Of course I'll be adding an epilogue so technically it might be the second last chapter. I really hope I didn't deter some of my readers with that ending….people might not like it too much….but I think where it's heading it'll come out with an ok ending. Ugh, I hate writing Sasuke lately…He's sooo hard to express…. I think I'm still opening him up too much with all his worry about Sakura…I mean he's supposed to think she's a liar and not feel anything at all then BOOM he's all worried about her well-being…I suck lol. Oh well, next chapter will be better and hopefully more IN-character. Muahaha! I'm eviiilll. Now I wonder, shall Sakura die? Shall she be blind? Will she be ok? What's Sasuke gonna think? And what about Naruto? Hell, where's the Naru/Hina? Trust me the answers are comin! Just gotta work harder! Oh yeah, poor Sasuke, everyone's so harsh on him…but after that stunt he pulled last chappie he deserves it lol! Hmm, so let the dreadful wait begin….again!

-AdventRain


	17. Important Author's Note!

**Important Author's Note:**

**First of all I'd like to apologize to everyone who got their hopes up from receiving a notification that I finally updated this story. **

**Second of all, I wanna tell you why I wrote this note to you guys :D**

**I've realized that people are still adding my story to their favourites or adding it to their alert list but I'd just like to direct everyone to my profile :D **

**There's a complete explanation for why the last chapter to this story hasn't been posted in over two years time. My deepest apologies. D: **

**But seriously! Go visit my profile everyone! Go go go! Haha :D**

**Oh! And do read Love is Blind! **

**It's basically the same, but better. I'm going to be changing just a few details so that it makes just a bit more sense and seems a bit more consistent in level of writing from start to finish. **

**Love is Blind will be completed!!!! I've already put up the prologue and first two chapters in the span of about a week. So uploading speed should be fairly decent until I gotta head back to University. I'll try for an update every weekend nevertheless. It's easier since I already have a version of the story to work off of and improve.**

**I need the new story to get back into the mood/swing of the final chapter. I don't want to let anyone down. I assure you it'll be worth the read and will be done within the year. :D **

**Thanks so much for all the encouragement and support again! Without you, there would be no dramatic, angsty, romance-filled SasuSaku XD **

**Even if they'll seemingly never be canon, we can hope :D or write terribly long fanfics. Lol**

**I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Holiday Season + a fantastic New Year!**

**Here's to a 2009 filled with more SasuSaku and a long awaited conclusion to their fate, in **_**Love is Blind. **_

**Xoxoxo**

**-AdventRain**


End file.
